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STEPHEN  Bo  WEEKS 

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LIBIRAMY 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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REMINISCENCES 


OF 


RANDOLPH  COUNTY, 


J".    ^^.    BL^^IE,. 


ASHEBORO,    X.    C. 


Via  trita  via  tuta." 


GREENSBORO: 

Reece  &  Elam,  Book  and  Job  Printers. 
1890. 


REMINISCENCES 


OF 


RANDOLPH  COUNTY, 


BY 


cr.  .A.,  bij.^11^, 


ASHEBORO,    N.    C. 


Via  trita  via  tut  a.'' 


GREENSBORO: 

Reece  &  Elam,  Book  and  Job  Printers. 
1890. 


Prefhce, 


This  little  Scrap-book  of  memories  is  compiled  from  the  records 
of  our  first  courts,  supplemented  with  facts  culled  from  general  his- 
tory and  the  comments  of  the  writer.  It  is  designed  to  revive  the 
memory  of  the  past,  and  to  preserve  and  perpetuate  something,  at 
least,  of  the  early  history  and  settlement  of  Randolph  county. 

The  Indian  is  taught  to  love  the  hunting  grounds  of  his  fathers, 
and  -to  hold  in  .sacred  veneration  the  traditions  of  hjs  tribe. 

Our  traditionary  history  is  largely  lost  amid  the  rubbish  of  buried 
centuries.  The  men  who  knew  it  are  gone.  The  living  know  more 
about  what  is  to  be  than  what  has  been. 

No  county  in  the  State  has  ever  won  a  grander  or  a  nobler  fame, 
in  the  struggle  for  life  and  liberty,  in  the  cause  of  peace  and  free- 
dom than  Randolph.  No  county  in  the  State  possesses  to  so  great  ( 
an  extent  the  natural  elements  of  wealth  and  prosperity  as  ours.  | 
Yet  she  is  comparitively  unknown.  Her  resources  are  undevel- 
oped. Her  history  is  unwritten.  Her  story  is  untold.  Records 
are  destroyed.  Information  is  lost.  Facts  are  forgotten.  Old  men 
pass  away,  even  the  prophets  do  not  live  forever,  hence  the  neces- 
sity of  duplicating  history.  Within  the  last  twenty  years,  it  is  said 
that  six  per  cent,  of  all  the  public  records  in  the  United  States  has 
been  destroyed  by  fire.  With  the  comforting  thought  that  it  pos- 
sesses at  least  the  merit  of  brevity,  this  little  work  is  submitted  to 
an  intelligent  public  with  the  hope  that  it  may  furnish  amusement 
or  entertainment  for  a  leisure  hour,  awaken  a  desire  to  learn  more 
of  our  early  history,  to  collect  and  preserve  ancient  relicts,  stimu- 
late a  higher  appreciation  of  our  county  and  our  people,  and  excite 
our  gratitude  to  a  merciful  Providence  for  the  blessings  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty  and  a  home  among  the  historic  rocks  and  hills  and 
heaths  of  Randolph  county,  where 

The  hand  of  beauty  crowns  the  farmer's  brow, 
And  freemen  rise  in  homage  to  the  plow. 

J.  A.   BLAIR. 


FORMATION  OF  RANDOLPH 


.    The  Legislature  of  1779,  then  5vitting  at  Halifax,  passed 
an  act  providing  for  the  formation  of  a  new  county  out  of 
Guilford  and    Rowan,  to    be    called    Randolph.     Notice 
having  been  given,  the  citizens  met  accordingly  on  Mon- 
day, the  8th  day  of  March,  1779.  at  the   house  of  Abram 
Reece.  who  then  lived  on  the  place  now  owned  by  Elias 
Allred,  about   half  way  between    Brown's  Cross.  Roads 
and  Randleman  Factory.     Proclamation  being  made,  the 
act  of  Assembly  was  read,  wherein,  William  Cole,    John 
Collin,    Joseph    Hinds.    George    Cortner,    John    Arnold, 
William  Millikan.  John  Hinds.  Jacob  Shepherd,  Richard- 
son Owen,  Windsor  Pearce,  William  Bell,  William  Mer- 
rill, John  Lowe,  Enoch  Davis   and   James   Hunter,  were 
nominated  Justices  for  holding  the  courts  in  said  county. 
The  oath  of  allegiance  and  the  oath  of   office  was  ad- 
ministered by  William  Cole,  Esq.,  whereupon  they   took 
their  seats  and  organized  and  held  the  first  court  in  Ran- 
dolph county  by  electing  William   Bell,  Sheriff,  William 
Millikan,  Register  of  Deeds,  and  Absalom  Tatum,  Clerk. 

CROSS    ROADS. 

Three  courts  were  held  at  Recce's  house.  In  the  mean- 
time a  small  log  house  was  built  about  four  hundred 
yards  east  of  the  Cross  Roads,  on  the  lands  of  Stephen 
Rigdon,  and  the  fourth  court,  held  December  the  13,  1779, 
was  held  here.  This  was  denominated  the  Randolph 
Court  House,  and  was  in  fact  the  first  Court  House  in  the 
county,  though  the  title  remained  in  Rigdon. 


Stephen  Rigdon  owned  a  vast  tract  of  land  centering 
at  the  Cross  Roads  and  extending  from  Back  Creek  al- 
most to  Deep  River.  In  1784  he  conveyed  to  Zebidee 
Wood,  Robert  McLean  and  James  Dougan,  commission- 
ers, to  purchase  a  site  for  pubh'c  buildings,  five  acres  of 
land  a  little  west  of  the  Cross  Roads,  and  in  1786  he  con- 
veyed to  Thomas  Dougan  the  entire  remainder  of  his 
Cross  Roads  lands,  comprising  about  six  hundred  acres. 

On  this  five  acre  lot  was  erected  the  Court  House  and 
other  public  buildings.  This  Court  House  was  a  model  ' 
of  its  day.  It  was  a  quaint  two-story,  hip-roof  house, 
and  was  completed  in  two  years  from  its  incipiency.  The 
nails  used  in  its  construction  were  made  in  a  smith-shop 
near  the  place,  and  the  plank  were  sawed  by  hand,  and 
the  first  court  held  in  this  new  forum  was  March  court. 
1786.  This  venerable  building,  now  blotted  out  by  the 
effacing  hand  of  time,  many  yet  living  will  remember  to 
have  seen. 

In  1788  the  Legislature,  then  sitting  at  Fayetteville, 
passed  an  act  establishing  a  town  on  the  lands  of  Thomas 
Dougan,  embracing  the  new  Court  House,  and  appoint- 
ing Jeduthan  Harper,  Jesse  Henly,  Samuel  Millikan,  Wil- 
liam Bell  and  Zebidee  Wood  commissioners  of  the  town, 
and  they  named  it  Johnsonville.  Up  to  this  time  the 
town  had  assumed  no  definite  shape.  It  had  been  float- 
ing about  like  Noah's  Ark,  and  none  could  tell,  with  any 
degree  of  certainty,  where  it  would  finally  rest.  But  now 
it  is  settled.  The  Court  House  is  built.  The  town  is 
established  by  law,  and  it  has  become  inevitable  that 
Johnsonville  is  to  be  the  county  site. 

Here  is  the  crossing  of  two  public  highways,  the  one 


5 

leading-  from  Old  Salem  to  Fayetteville,  and  the  other 
from  Salisbury  to  Hillsboro.  Accessible  from  every 
quarter  it  attracted  business,  capital  and  speculation. 
Streets  were  opened,  about  seventy-five  lots  were  pur- 
chased and  improved,  and  besides  the  public  buildings 
there  were  stores,  hotels,  bar  rooms,  smith  shops,  wood 
shops,  shoe  shops,  hatter  shops,  and  Johnsonville  became 
the  great  centre  of  business  and  fashion. 

A  weekly  stage  line  from  Salisbury  to  Hillsboro  passed 
through  this  place,  and  when  the  bugle  notes  rang  out  in 
wild  echoes  among  the  hills,  announcing  the  approach  of 
the  mail,  all  Johnsonville  was  astir,  there  was  a  momen- 
tary lull  in  business,  and  somebody  stood  in  every  door, 
and  gazed  from  every  window,  to  see  the  passengers, 
hear  the  first  break  of  news,  and  catch  a  glimpse  of  that 
marvelous  vehicle  of  thought  and  civilization  "that  comes 
the  herald  of  a  noisy  world,  with  news  from  all  nations 
lumbering  at  his  back,"  bringing  one  letter  perhaps  to 
Johnsonville,  for  which  the  favored  recipient  pays  twenty- 
five  cents  postage,  for  at  that  time  the  postage  was  in- 
variably paid  by  the  receiver  of  the  letter  and  not  by  the 
sender. 

It  was  here  at  Johnsonville  on  Tuesday  morning,  De- 
cember the  nth,  1787,  a  tall  young  man,  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  entered  the  Court  House  and  produced  a 
license,  from  the  Honorable  the  Judges  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Law  and  Equity,  authorizing  him  to  practice  as 
an  attorney  in  the  several  county  courts,  and  taking  the 
oath  prescribed  by  law,  proceeded  to  practice  in  said 
court. 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 
This  man  was  Andrew  Jackson,  who  afterward  became 
the  seventh  President  of  the  United  States,  defeating 
John  Ouincy  Adams  in  1828,  and  Henry  Clay  in  1832. 
Little  is  known  of  Jackson's  birth  and  parentage.  By 
industry,  toil  and  study,  he  rose  from  poverty  and  ob- 
scurity to  the  summit  of  independence,  distinction  and 
fame. 

How  long  Jackson  remained  in  Randolph  is  not  de*",- 
nitely  known.  The  following  entry  made  at  March  court. 
1788,  appears  on  the  minute  docket:  "On  motion  of  An- 
drew Jackson,  Esq.,  Attorney  for  Absalom  Tatum,  it  is 
ordered  that  Adam  Tate,  Esq.,  Coroner  of  Rockingham 
county,  be  fined  fifty  lbs.  .Visi,  for  failing  to  return  a  writ 
oi  Fiere  Facias  against  John  May.  Sheriff  of  said  county, 
at  the  instance  of  Absalom  Tatum.  and  that  Sciere  Facias 
issue  accordingly.'' 

Jackson  left  Randolph  soon  after  this  and  tradition 
says  he  went  to  Martinsville,  where  his  mother  was  living 
at  that  time.  Here  he  remained  a  year  perhaps  and  then 
went  to  Tennessee. 

Leaving  home  is  a  trying  ordeal  for  the  boy,  the  brav- 
est heart  falters  at  the  thought  oi  quitting  home  never 
perhaps  to  return  again.  Things  are  seen  differently  now 
from  what  they  have  ever  been  seen  before. 

Every  object  becomes  dearer  and  lovelier,  memories 
become  sweeter  and  companionships  dearer  and  tenderer. 
It  was  autumn.  The  brown  leaves  were  falling.  The 
vv'oods  were  tinged  with  crimson  hue.  The  tremulous 
light,  the  cawing  Crow  and  the  noisy  Jay,  each  note  and 
voice  was  a  sound  of  sorrow  or  a  song  of  sadness.     His 


mother  followed  him  to  the  fence,  the)'  had  no  gate,  only 
a  low  rail  fence  around  the  house.  There  he  mounted 
his  horse  and  slowly  rode  away.  His  mother  stood  and 
watched  him  till  he  disappeared  beyond  the  woody  lane 
and  never  saw  her  boy  again. 

COUNTY    COURTS. 


The  Justices  before  whom  Andrew  Jacckson  qualified 
were  John  Arnold,  Zebidee  Wood,  John  Lane  and  Aaron 
Hill. 

These  count}'  courts  were  held  four  times  a  year,  and 
had  final  jurisdiction  to  hear  and  determine  all  civil  ac- 
tions founded  on  contract,  where  the  sum  demanded  did 
not  exceed  forty  shillings,  and  of  all  petty  larcenies,  as- 
saults and  batteries,  and  all  minor  offences  and  misde- 
meanors. The}'  appointed  the  overseers  of  roads,  took 
the  probate  of  deeds,  granted  letters  of  administration 
and  letters  testamentary,  licensed  tavern  keepers  and 
fixed  the  tavern  rates.  We  append  here  a  schedule  of 
tavern  rates,  adopted  at  September  court.  1783: 


Good  West  India  Rum 
Northward    Rum ..... 
Good  Peach   Brandy.. 
Apple 


K   Pint. 


shilli 


-    "      Whiskey  .  .  .  :.. "       " 

Wine per  quart    4 

Strong  Beer "       "        o 

vSmall  Beer "       "        o 

Quart  toddy  with  Loaf  Sugar i 

Hot    Breakfast . i 

Cold  "  o 


4  pence 

o 

o 

6       •' 

6       " 

o. 

8       " 

6:    .     ",   . 

4  -'" 

o         ". 

8       "'' 


•      8 

Common    Dinner i  shilling,     o  pence. 

Extraordinary  Dinner i  "  6 

Lodging  per  night,  with  clean  sheet o  "  4 

Corn,  per  gallon 1  "  o 

Oats,     "         "       I  "  o 

Pastorage,  per  night o  "  8 

Stable,  per  night,  with  fodder i  "  o 

Supper o  "  8 

The  attorneys  who  practiced  in  the  first  courts  of  Ran- 
dolph county  were:  Nathaniel  Williams,  Andrew  Jack- 
son, William  Cocke,  Reuben  Wood,  Jesse  Benton,  John 
Williams,  William  Baily,  William  Nash,  John  Louis  Tay- 
lor, William  Crawford. 

The  county  officers  were  elected  by  the  county  court 
and  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  and  were  chosen  to 
serve  only  one  year,  up  to  1832,  when  the  law  was  en- 
acted providing  for  the  election  of  county  officers  by  the 
popular  vote  of  the  people,  and  the  Sheriffs  were  after 
this  time  elected  for  the  term  of  two  years. 

In  1795  Alexander  Mebane  received  156  votes  for  Con- 
gress, and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  over  two  other 
candidates  in  Randolph  county. 

Mind  stamps  its  impress  on  the  arts  and  industries  of 
every  age,  on  houses,  roads,  fields  and  implements  of 
husbandry. 

The  log  house,  the  broad-axe,  the  reap  hook,  the  flax 
break,  the  hickory  flail,  the  wooden  key,  the  tallow  can- 
dle, the  flint  and  steel  and  touch  wood  reflect  the  van- 
ished light  of  the  dawn  of  mind. 

So  far  have  we  diverged  from  the  border  land  of  olden 
times;  and  surrounded  as  we  are  by  the  triumphs  of  mind 
and  the   achievements    of  modern    science,    where    the 


music  of  machinery  mingles  its  melody  with  the  murmur- 
ing waters,  and  smoking  furnaces  and  ringing  anvils 
point  to  smiling  villages  and  happy  homes,  it  might  be 
refreshing,  in  this  age  of  fashion  and  progress,  while  the 
effacing  hand  of  time  and  change  is  fast  obliterating  every 
sacred  relict  of  the  past,  and  every  cherished  emblem  of 
domestic  life  has  well-nigh  lost  its  meaning  and  signifi- 
cance, to  revert  briefly  to  the  simple  rustic  manners  of 
the  long  ago. 

The  following  extracts,  copied  from  the  minute  docket 
of  the  county  court  from  its  formation  in  1779  till  its  re- 
moval to  Asheboro  in  1793,  may  serve  to  exhibit  the  true 
status  of  society,  and  illustrate  the  taste  and  culture  and 
morals  of  the  people  one  hundred  years  ago: 

At  March  Court,  1780 — It  is  ordered  that  George 
Everby  be  recorded  as  a  public  liar,  for  speaking  and 
propagating  falsehoods  against  Richard  Lewis. 

September  Court,  1784 — Ordered  that  no  person  shall 
sell  spirituous  liquors  in  the  Court  House  while  court  is 
sitting. 

June  Court,  1785 — Nathaniel  Williams,  attorney,  is 
fined  4  lbs.  for  contempt  of  court,  ordered  in  custody  of 
Sheriff.  Absalom  Tatum,  Clerk  of  the  Court,  is  fined  40 
shillings  for  contempt  of  court — fine  paid. 

March  Court,  1786 — Ordered  that  the  Sheriff  and  his 
deputies  attend  court  in  the  future  with  their  swords  on, 
attended  by  three  constables,  each  with  a  white  stick  six 
feet  long. 

December  Court,  1787— Andrew  Jackson,  Esq.,  pro- 
duced a  license  from  the  Honorable  the  Judges  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  Law   and   Equity   authorizing   him   to 


TO 

practice  as  an  attorney  in  the  several  county  courts,  took 
the  oath  prescribed  and  proceeded  to  practice  in  said 
courts. 

March  Court,  1788— Ordered  that  Col.  William  Moore 
be  fined  fift\'  pounds  for  contempt  of  court,  b\'  riding  his 
horse  into  the  Court  House  during  the  sitting  of  the 
court,  and  that  he  be  committed  to  jail  till  the  fine  be 
paid;  ordered  that  the  Captain  of  the  county  aid  the 
Sheriff,  with  a  sufficient  number  of  men,  to  execute  this 
order  as  said  Moore  resists  the  Sheriff  with  arms. 

Jam.es  Lowe  is  allowed  20  shillings  for  a  wolf  scalp 
produced  in  court. 

Thomas  Knight  is  allowed  five  pounds  for  seven  wild 
cat  scalps  which  he  produces  to  the  court. 

William  Brookshire  is  allowed  15  shillings  for  a  wolf 
scalp  which  he  produces  to  the  court. 

Isaac  Kearns  is  allowed  15  shilltngs  for  killing  two 
wolves. 

December  Court,  1790 — It  is  ordered  that  Capt.  John 
Clark  take  the  keys  of  the  Court  House  into  his  posses- 
sion and  keep  the  doors  and  windows  shut  except  on 
such  days  as  the  public  business  or  divine  service  require 
them  to  be  open. 

September  Court,  1791 — Ordered  that  all  persons  re- 
tailing liquor  of  any  kind  without  license,  remove  imme- 
diately twenty  rods  from  the  Court  House. 

One  hundred  years  ago  the  overseers  of  the  public 
roads  were  ordered  to  appear  at  the  next  term  of  the 
court  and  show  why  their  roads  were  not  in  good  condi- 
tion. If  they  have  ever  appeared  and  rendered  any  sat- 
isfactory reason  I  am  not  aware  of  it. 


II 

Under  the  present  road  management  our  roads  will 
remain  bad  till  we  adopt  a  system  of  draining  the  road 
bed. 

These  old  county  courts  were  abolished  in  1868. 

POSTAGE    RATES. 

Without  presuming  to  enter  upon  an  exploring  expe- 
dition or  to  digress  from  the  logical  design  and  limit  of 
this  narrative,  I  may  be  permitted  to  append  here,  as  a 
forcible  contrast  between  the  past  and  present,  the  first 
rates  of  postage  fixed  by  act  of  Congress  in  1792: 

On  single  letters  not  exceeding  30  miles 6  cents 

Over  30   and  under  60    miles 8 

Over  60      "         "       100      '*      10  " 

Over  100    "         "       150      "      I2>^  " 

Over  150    "         "      200      "      15  " 

Over  200    "         "       250      "      17 

Over  250    "         "      3SO     "      20  " 

Over  350    "         "      450     "      22  " 

Over  450  miles 25 

Friction  matches  were  invented  in  1829,  but  not  in  use 
in  the  South  till  after  1840.  Steel  pens  were  first  used  in 
the  United  States  in  1830,  but  not  generally  used  till  1845. 
Envelopes  were  first  made  in  1845.  First  postage  stamps 
used  in   1852. 

The  people  of  the  olden  time  endured  great  hardships 
and  privations.  They  possessed  none  of  the  luxuries  and 
few  of  the  comforts  common  to  the  present  day. 

There  were  no  railroads  then,  their  excursions  were  to 
the  corn  field  and  cotton  patch.  The  insanity  of  base 
ball  and  lav/n  tennis  never  struck  them. 


12 

Steam  had  not  then  lent  its  power  to  lighten  labor  in 
the  domestic  arts. 

They  had  no  sewing  machine  to  ornament  the  hall,  no 
cooking  stove  embellished  the  kitchen,  no  lamp  illumined 
the  sitting  room.  The  light  was  the  dim  tallow  dip,  and 
the  music  was  the  wheel  and  cards.  There  were  no  fric- 
tion matches  in  use,  and  when  the  fire  was  inadvertentl}- 
suffered  to  go  out  it  was  produced  by  means  of  the  flint 
and  steel  and  touch  wood,  known  in  common  parlance 
as  punk.  The  forest  pines,  which  now  contribute  so 
much  light  and  comfort  and  happiness  to  man,  had  then 
never  heard  the  sound  of  the  axe  or  the  song  of  the  saw, 
but  had  only  listened  to  the  gentle  whispers  of  the  soft 
summer  breeze,  or  started  at  the  thundering  tread  of  the 
gathering  storm. 

ASHEBORO   COURT    HOUSE. 

In  1793  Jesse  Henly  conve}'ed  to  the  Justices  of  Ran- 
dolph county  two  acres  of  land  on  Abram's  Creek  for 
public  buildings,  and  on  June  the  12th,  1793,  the  first 
court  was  held  at  Asheboro  in  a  small  wooden  house. 

In  1805  t^"i^  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  Ran- 
dolph county  to  build  a  new  Court  House,  and  a  large 
two  story  frame  house  was  built.  This  house  was  sold  in 
1830,  and  bought  by  Alfred  Marsh  and  Benjamin  Elliott 
and  converted  into  a  store,  and  a  small  brick  house  was 
built,  which,  in  consequence  of  some  defect  in  the  walls, 
soon  became  unsafe  and  was  torn  down,  and  in  1835  the 
present  main  brick  wall  was  erected  under  the  contract 
and  supervision  of  Jonathan  Worth.  In  1876  the  north 
wing  and    the   stair  front  were  added.     Thus  this    quiet 


13 

country  village,  encircled  by  the  hills  of  pine,  in  unpre- 
tentious simplicity,  has  stood  for  a  hundred  years,  without 
assuming  an  air  of  town  life,  unafflicted  with  burglars, 
tramps,  or  insurance  agents,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
greatest  of  earthly  treasures,  contentment  and  health. 

In  July,    1889,   the   H.  R.   A.  and    Southern    Railroad 
was  completed  to   this  place.     What   influence  this   me- 
dium of  travel  and  transportation  is  to  exert  on  the  future 
of  a  town  a  century  old,  containing  two  stores  and  twen- 
t\'-two  houses,  time  alone  can   tell. 

JOHXSOXVILLE. 

This  new  town  was  named  in  compliment  to  Samuel 
Johnson,  who  was  Governor  of  the  State  at  that  time, 
and  Johnsonville  now  became  the  coming  town,  the 
Mecca  of  the  desert,  the  centre  of  rank  and  fashion. 

Among  the  many  attractions  of  this  place  a  count}-  fair 
was  organized  and  held  here  for  many  years,  the  leading 
features  of  which  were  horse  racing,  foot  racing  and 
shooting  matches. 

Here  gathered  learning,  beauty,  wealth  and  fashion. 
That  grand  old  oak  at  the  well,  type  of  the  primeval  for- 
est, lingering  echo  of  a  noble  brotherhood  and  a  vanished 
age,  were  it  endowed  with  speech 

Many  a  love  romance  could  tell 

Of  country  beauty  and  of  village  belle. 

A  great  life  in  any  age  of  the  world  is  illustrious. 
Greatness  dignifies  the  simplest  acts.  Character  adorns 
the  humblest  place.  And  whether  Andrew  Jackson  was 
domiciled  in  Randolph  county  or  not,  or  whether  he  only 


stopped  here  to  sun  himself  in  beauties'  eyes,  here  at  least 
began  a  noble  life  that  won 

o 

A  name  that  beauty  might  not  blush  to  bear, 
A  fame  that  princes  might  be  proud  to  share. 

In  1767  the  Province  of  North  Carolina  was  divided 
into  six  Judicial  Districts,  Wilmington,  Newbern,  Eden- 
ton,  Halifax,  Hillsboro  and  Salisbury,  and  county  courts 
were  established  in  every  county  then  ///  c\^se  at  the  same 
time. 

Randolph  being  comprised  in  the  Hillsboro  District 
our  Superior  Courts  were  held  there  till  1806,  when  the 
General  Assembly  passed  an  act  establishing  Superior 
Courts  in  every  county. 

The  first  Superior  Court  in  Randolph  county  was  ac- 
cordingly held  at  Asheboro,  on  the  first  Monday  in  April, 
1S07,  His  Honor,  Spruce  McCay,  Judge. 

COL.    DAVID    FAXXIXG 

Was  born  in  Wake  county  in  1755,  and  apprenticed  to 
a  loom  maker.  When  about  twenty-two  years -of  age  he 
moved  to  Chatham  county,  where  he  was  appointed  Col- 
onel of  the  Royal  3,Iilitia  about  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolutionary  war. 

Here  he  began  his  marauding  exploits,  which  soon 
filled  the  country  with  the  terror  of  his  name  and  dis- 
tinguished him  as  the  most  daring  and  successful  bandit 
of  the  age. 

With  a  small  force  under  his  command  he  adopted  the 
Guerrilla  warfare,  and  made  frequent  predatory  incursions 


15 

into  Randolph  county,  where  house  burninq-,  pilla^^e  and 
murder  marked  his  course. 

Andrew  Hunter  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  liberty  and 
lived  on  Little  River,  where  ■ now  lives. 

Fanning  had  long  marked  him  as  the  victim  of  his 
murder,  and  one  day  as  Hunter  was  going  along  the  road, 
not  far  from  Burney's  bridge,  he  met  Fanning  and  his 
men.  They  dismounted,  and  leaving  their  horses  unhitch- 
ed in  the  road,  made  Hunter  get  out,  and  told  him  they 
would  hang  him  in  fifteen  minutes.  Fanning  had  a  fine 
mare  he  called  Bay  Doe,  which  an  old  Tory  had  given 
him,  and  which  he  highly  valued  for  her  fleetness  and  in- 
telligence. While  they  were  eating  some  rations,  which 
they  took  from  Hunter's  wagon.  Hunter  sprang  upon  Ba\- 
Doe  and  dashed  off  through  the  woods.  Fanning's  men 
fired  several  shots,  but  Hunter  escaped  with  Bay  Doe 
and  a  fine  brace  of  pistols,  belonging  to  Fanning.  After 
this  Hunter  was  one  day  encompassed  by  Fanning's  force 
on  the  bank  of  Deep  River,  where  Franklinsville  now 
stands;  here  he  plunged  down  a  steep  rock  some  fifty  feet 
into  the  river  and  made  his  escape  with  Bay  Doe.  This 
rock  stands  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  just  behind  the 
Mill,  and  is  as  steep  as  an  ordinary  house  roof. 

England  was  rich  and  powerful,  and  for  Fanning's  self- 
ish uncultured  instincts  the  ensign  of  Royalty,  the  allure- 
ments of  British  gold  and  the  glittering  pageantry  of 
office,  had  greater  fascination  than  the  cause  of  humanity 
and  freedom  embarked  in  a  struggle  to  solve  the  problem 
of  man's  capacity  for  self-government.  Fanning  had  im- 
plicit confidence  in  the  success  of  the  Royal  cause,  and 
was  elated  with  the  prospect  of  being  rewarded  with  large 


i6 

possessions,  and  perhaps  attaining  the  Governorship  of 
North  Carolina. 

The  life  of  Fanning  is  a  fitting  illustration  of  the  per- 
nicious consequences  of  a  neglected  early  moral  and 
religious  education. 

The  influence  of  kindness,  for  good,  with  children  as 
well  as  men  and  communities",  is  incalculable.  Harsh 
and  cruel  treatment  of  children  crush  out  the  better  im- 
pulses of  the  heart,  and  stimulate  the  base  and  inhuman 
instincts  of  passion. 

With  the  proper  training  and  culture,  Fanning's  native 
genius  and  daring  might  have  rendered  his  name  as  re- 
nowned for  good  as  it  has  been  for  evil.  He  was  a  North 
Carolinian.  His  invincible  spirit  and  lion-hearted  bra- 
very might  have  won  for  him  imperishable  honor,  and 
rendered  the  name  of  Fanning  the  brightest  ornament 
that  adorns  the  pages  of  American  history.  He  might 
have  stood  with  Marion  and  Sumpter  and  Greene  and 
lived  in  the  hearts  and  affections  of  a  grateful  people, 
but  he  chose  the  side  of  wrong.  He  followed  Saul  and 
served  a  foreign  power,  and  proved  that  the  way  of  the 
transgressor  is  hard.  All  prefer  to  be  on  the  side  that 
wins,  and  Fanning  no  doubt  believed  he  was  right  and 
that  the  great  American  rebellion  ought  to  be  suppressed. 
But  he  was  cruel  and  vindictive.  Extremes  are  danger- 
ous and  wrong.  Our  moderation  should  be  known  to  all 
men.  There  are  none  so  great  they  cannot  fall  so  low 
they  cannot  rise. 

Why  Fanning  was  never  killed  strikes  the  reader  as  a 
hidden  mystery.  For  some  time  after  the  surrender  at 
Yorktown,  and  after  the  British  Army  had  left  the  State, 


17 

he  remained  here  and  continued  his  depredations  and 
warfare  in  open  defiance  of  law  and  authority. 

Fanning  and  his  lawless  band  finally  ran  away  to  South 
Carolina  and  then  to  East  Florida,  and  from  thence  Fan- 
ning fled  with  his  family  to  New  Brunswick,  and  died  on 
the  Island  of  Nova  Scotia  in  1825. 

A  number  of  his  band' were  shot,  some  were  captured 
and  hanged,  others  fled  the  State,  and  hundreds,  who 
were  in  silent  sympathy  with  the  British,  when  the  Tory 
cause  failed,  came  up  and  submitted,  took  the  oath  of 
alligiance  and  were  discharged  and  became  true  and  loyal 
citizens. 

These  incidents  in  the  life  of  Fanning  are  extracted 
from  the  published  narrativ^e  of  the  journal  written  by 
Col.  Fanning  himself  of  his  adventures  in  North  Carolina 
from  1775  to  1783. 

The  following  memorial,  presented  by  Fanning  to  the 
British  aid  commission,  will  suggest  to  the  reader  some 
of  the  incidents  in  the  military  career  of  Col.  Fanning: 

To  the  Honorable  Conunissioners  appointed  by  act  of  Parliametit 
to  enquire  into  the  losses  and  services  of  the  American  Loy- 
alists: ... 

The  ^Memorial  of  David  Fanning,  late  Colonel  of  the 
North  Carolina  Militia,  humbly  showeth:  That  your 
Memoriallist  is  a  Loyalist  from  North  Carolina;  who  uni- 
formly and  religiously  adhered  to  his  duty  and  loyalty  to 
the  best  of  sovereigns,  for  which  he  suffered  persecution 
and  many  other  inconveniences;  that  your  Memoriallist, 
by  a  warrant  from  Major  Craig,  of  the  82nd  Regiment, 
then  commanding  at  Wilmington,  was  placed  at  the  head 


18 

o{ the  Militia  of  that  Province;  that  your  Memoriallist 
during  the  late  war  did  command  from  one  to  nine  hun- 
dred and  fift)'  men,  with  whom  he  was  engaged  in  six  and 
thirty  skirmishes  in  North  Carolina  and  four  in  South 
Carolina,  all  of  which  were  of  his  own  planning  and  in 
which  he  had  the  honor  to  command;  that  your  Memo- 
riallist killed  many  of  the  Rebels,  and  took  many  of  them 
prisoners.  Among  the  latter  were  Governor  Burke,  his 
council,  and  many  officers  of  distinction  in  the  Rebel 
army;  that  your  Memoriallist  was  during  that  time  twice 
wounded  and  fourteen  times  taken  prisoner;  that  on  the 
conclusion  of  peace  your  Memoriallist  settled  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  souls  in  East  Florida;  and  having  took  re- 
fuge in  several  parts  of  his  Majesty's  remaining  posses- 
sions in  America,  finally  settled  in  the  province  of  New 
Brunswick,  where  he  now  is,  in  great  distress,  with  his 
family;  that  your  Memoriallist,  in  consequence  of  his 
said  loyalty  to  his  sovereign;  the  many  services  rendered 
him;  and  attachment  to  the  British  Government,  had  his 
property,  real  and  personal,  seized,  confiscated  and  sold 
by  Rebel  authority. 

Your  Memoriallist  therefore  prays  that  his  case  may  be 
taken  into  consideration,  in  order  that  he  may  be  enabled, 
under  your  report,  to  receive  such  aid  or  relief  as  his  case 
may  be  found  to  deserve.  David  Fanning. 

St.  John,  March   ist,  1786. 

Andrew  Balfour,  whose  name  is  intimately  associated 
with  the  early  history  of  Randolph  county,  came  from 
Edinburgh,  Scotland,  in  1772,  leaving  a  young  wife  and 
infant  child  in  Scotland.     About  a  year  after  his  arrival 


19 

in  America  his  wife  died,  and  his  sister,  Margaret,  emi- 
grated to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  her  brother, 
John,  was  living,  bringing  her  little  niece  with  her. 

Col.  Andrew  Balfour,  a  short  while  after  his  wife's 
death,  married  Elizabeth  Dayton,  of  New  Port,  Rhode 
Island,  and  came  to  Randolph  county  in  1779,  and  settled 
on  the  road  about  two  miles  east  of  Macon's  old  store. 
Here  he  bought  land  and  built  a  log  house,  where  his  sis- 
ter, Margaret,  and  little  daughter  joined  him  in  his  new 
wild  wood  home,  which  was  to  be  further  illuminated  by 
the  presence  of  his  wife,  who  all  this  time  had  remained 
in  \ew  Port,  as  soon  as  the  perils  of  war  would  admit 
her  coming.  Colonel  Balfour  was  an  earnest  advocate 
of  American  liberty,  and  early  endeared  himself  to  the 
Whigs  by  his  rare  courage,  independent  thought  and 
self-sacrificing  devotion  to  the  cause  of  freedom;  and  the 
name  of  Balfour  became  a  terror  to  Tories  and  traitors. 
He  was  commissioned  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  1779,  and 
Colonel  of  the  Militia,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1780. 

But  here,  alas! 

Nothing  scarce  begins  till  it  is  done, 
No  spring  or  winter,  rise  or  set  of  sun. 

At  his  rustic  home,  amid  the  fascinations  of  nature's 
wild  charm,  when  the  first  rosy  blush  of  spring  was  re- 
peating the  glad  anthem  of  peace  on  earth  and  good  will 
to  men,  on  Sabbath  morning,  the  lOth  day  of  March,  1782, 
in  the  presence  of  his  sister  and  his  little  daughter,  An- 
drew Balfour  was  brutally  murdered  by  Col.  David  Fan- 
ning and  his  band  of  Tories.     He  was  buried  on  the  old 


20 

farm  and  his  grave  is  still  to  be  seen.  The  rock  spring- 
house  is  standing  yet,  but  the  house  in  which  he  was 
murdered  is  gone,  but  the  exact  spot  is  well  identified. 

Let  the  life  of  Colonel  Balfour,  and  the  tender  and  hal- 
lowed associations  that  cluster  around  his  grave,  inspire 
our  hearts  with  a  broader  charity,  and  a  higher  apprecia- 
tion of  our  homes,  our  people,  and  our  privileges,  and  a 
more  abiding  trust  and  depen-dence  in  Him  who  rules  and 
directs  the  affairs  of  men,  and  thank  Him  that  we  live  in 
an  age  and  in  a  land  of  Peace  and  Freedom. 

Upon  hearing  of  her  husband's  tragic  death,  Mrs.  Bal- 
four came  to  Randolph,  but  after  remaining  at  the  old 
farm  a  short  while  she  went  to  Salisbury,  where  she  was 
-y  appointed  Post  Mistress  by  George  Washington.  Hence 
'  Elizabeth  Dayton  Balfour,  of  Randolph  county,  became 
the  first  Post  Mistress  in  America. 

The  Balfour  place  is  now  owned  by  Henry  Rush.. 

Colonel  Balfour's  son,  Andrew  Balfour,  married  Mary 
Henly,  a  daughter  of  John  Henly,  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  lived  on  Caraway  at  the 
Samuel  H.  Hale  place,  now  owned  by  William  Kearns. 

Eliza  Balfour,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Mary,  mar- 
ried J.  M.  A.  Drake,  who  recently  died  in  Illinois. 

Colonel  Balfour's  daughter,  who  came  when  a  child, 
with  her  aunt,  from  Scotland,  married  John  Tro}',  whose 
son  John  B.  Troy,  Esq.,  and  his  numerous  progeny  are 
well  and  favorably   known  to  the  people   of   Randolph. 

The  Balfour  name  is  almost  extinct.  It  is  only  com- 
memorated in  Balfour  Lodge  of  Asheboro.  The  graves 
of  the  Balfours  are  together  on  the  old  farm,  a  sorrowful 
sadness  gathers  about  the  place,  and  the  rocks  and  trees 


21 

are  bent  with  years  of  grief.  Here  let  our  love  and  ven- 
eration for  the  dead  prompt  us  to  pause  and  bestow  the 
tender  tribute  of  a  flower  or  tear 

Upon  the  lonely  time  worn  grave, 
Where  rest  the  innocent  and  brave. 

Captain  William  Clark,  one  of  the  most  daring  and  de- 
termined spirits  of  that  da\-,  lived  near  where  Naomi 
Factory  now  stands,  on  the  south  side  of  Dee  p  River.  He 
was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Whig  party  in  Ran- 
dolph, and  to  him  the  post  of  danger  had  a  fascination 
which  he  loved  and  sought. 

It  was  Clark  who  captured  and  killed  John  Elrod  and 
Samuel  Still,  two  notorious  Tories  who  lived  in  the  fork 
of  the  Yadkin  River.  These  men  made  a  raid  into  Ran- 
dolph and  murdered  Henry  Johnson  in  the  road  near 
where  J.  M.  Blair  now  lives. 

Captain  Clark  with  a  few  men  pursued  these  desperadoes 
and  found  them  asleep  in  Elrod's  house  with  their  guns 
by  them;  here  Clark,  with  a  fence  rail,  broke  the  door 
down  and  seized  these  murderers  before  they  could  make 
any  resistance.  This  was  at  night,  and  Elrod  and  Still 
were  tied,  taken  a  little  way  from  the  house  and  shot. 
An}'  one  can  be  brave  where  there  is  no  danger,  but 
Captain  Clark's  greatest  bravery  was  evinced  in  the  hour 
of  greatest  peril.  After  the  war  he  joined  the  Friends  at 
Centre  meeting  house,  laid  aside  his  sword  and  his  scalp- 

of  knife  and  became  a  zealous   and  devoted  follower  of 


m 


the  Prince  of  Peace. 


Far  from  our  destined  port  we  often  land; 
The  life  we  live  is  not  the  life  we  planned. 


22 

His  son,  Dougan  Clark,  afterwards  became  an  eminent 
minister  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

William  Millikan  was  a  Quaker  and  lived  on  the  west 
side  of  the  plank  road,  south  of  New  Market.  He  was  a 
zealous  Friend  and  advocate  of  liberty  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  civil  affairs  of  the  county,  and  enjoyed,  in  an 
eminent  degree,  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  public. 
His  house  was  burned  by  the  Tories. 

Col.  Thomas  Dougan  lived  at  the  Cross  Roads  and  had 
a  store  there.  He  was  a  man  of  influence  and  culture, 
and  might  be  fitly  termed  a  chief  among  the  mighty  men 
of  valor.  He  was  captured  at  one  time  by  Fanning  and 
taken  out  with  a  rope  around  his  neck  to  be  hanged,  but 
through  the  intervention  of  some  of  Fanning's  men,  who 
were  personal  friends  of  Dougans,  Fanning  was  induced 
to  release  him.  After  the  war  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Legislature  from  Randolph  county,  and  served 
three  terms  in  the  Senate. 

William  Bell  lived  at  the  William  Welborn  place,  on 
the  west  side  of  Deep  River,  and  owned  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Walker  Mill.  He  was  the  first  Sheriff  of 
the  county,  and  served  two  terms  in  the  Legislature. 

HERMAN    HUSBAXD.S 

Came  from  Pennsylvania  and  settled  on  Sandy  Creek, 
about  175 1,  where  W.  P.  Fox,  Esq.,  now  lives.  He  was 
raised  a  Friend,  and  was  a  relative  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 
His  devotion  to  the  cause  of  American  independence 
bordered  on  fanaticism,  and  in  the  darkest  hour  of  our 
country's  struggle  Herman  Husbands  was  the  great  leader 
of  the  Whig  party  in   Randolph  and  Chatham.     Like  St. 


23 

Paul  he  seemed  to  love  the  post  of  danger  and  was  never 
at  a  loss  to  find  it.  Possessing  amazing  courage  and  ir- 
repressible resolution  he  boldly  attacked  the  corruption 
and  extortion  of  Royal  officials,  and  defied  the  minions 
of  British  power.  He  commanded  the  Regulators  at  the 
battle  of  Alamance  in  1771,  and  was  afterwards  a  member 
of  the  Legislature,  and  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  on 
Deep  River,  near  Buffalo  Ford,  granted  him  by  Lord 
Granville. 

[OHN   COLLIER 

Was  Lieutenant  of  the  Randolph  Militia,  Sheriff,  County 
Surveyor,  and  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  He  owned 
a  large  landed  estate  and  lived  on  Caraway,  not  far  from 
Maud  Post  Office. 

JEDUTHAN    HARPER 

Lived  on  or  near  what  is  known  as  the  General  Gray 
place.  Harper  was  a  man  of  extensive  property  and  his 
prominence  was  derived  more  from  his  financial  ability 
than  his  literary  taste.  He  was  a  leader  in  his  day,  how- 
ever, and  filled  the  various  offices  of  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
Register  of  Deeds,  Clerk  of  the  Court,  and  was  elected 
to  the  Legislature  in  1780;  he  and  Andrew  Balfour  serv- 
ing in  the  House  and  John  Collier  in  the  Senate.  The 
lands  owned  by  Harper  were  designated  as  the  Richlands 
and  have  ever  been  noted  for  their  forests  of  large  and 
beautiful  trees.  This  land  originally  belonged  to  Henry 
Eustice  McCullock,  a  proprietary  under  Granville,  and 
was  confiscated  after  the  war  and  sold  by  the  commis- 
sioners of  confiscated  property. 


All  these  men  owned  slaves,  and  slavery  was  then  re- 
garded as  a  necessity,  not  only  as  the  chief  element  of 
labor,  but  as  a  protection  to  the  white  settlers. 

The  colored  man  helped  to  settle  this  country  and 
many  perished  in  defence  of  their  masters'  homes  and 
property.  This  thought  should  ever  remain  a  bond  of 
sympathy  and  friendship  between  the  two  races,  and  an 
incentive  to  both  to  maintain  the  blessings  of  peace  and 
freedom  and  elevate  the  negro  to  that  degree  of  modern 
civilization  that  will  fit  him  for  useful  and  respectable 
citizenship. 

SLAVERY. 

In  1620  a  Dutch  vessel  from  Guinea  brought  over 
twenty  negroes  and  sold  them  to  the  planters  in  Virginia. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  slavery  in  America. 

Slaves  could  be  freed  by  order  and  decree  of  the  court, 
on  the  petition  of  the  owner  setting  forth  the  name,  age 
and  sex  of  the  slave,  and  alleging  that  he  or  she  had 
been  a  faithful  and  obedient  servant,  whereupon  the  court 
would  decree  that  they  be  forever  free  and  discharged 
from  servitude.  ' 

Thus  before  the  year  1800  all  the  Friends  and  many 
others  had  liberated  their  slaves.  About  this  time  the 
law  was  amended  and  no  slave  owner  was  permitted  to 
free  or  liberate  a  slave  without  first  giving  bond  and  good 
security  conditioned  that  the  slave  leave  the  State  in 
ninety  days  and  never  return.  Slavery  continued  to  exist 
in  the  South,  the  choice  of  some  and  the  necessity  of 
others,  till  the  suppression  of  the  great  Southern  rebellion 
in  1865,  when  its  ship  went  down  forever  amid  the  crash 
of  ruined  fortunes. 


25 
WOMAN. 

While  history  records  to  distant  times  the  deeds  of  man 
and  rends  the  air  with  the  plaudits  of  his  name,  how  lit- 
tle homage  is  paid  to  suffering,  patient,  self-sacrificing 
woman. 

The  name  of  Mary  Dougan,  Elizabeth  Balfour,  Jane 
Millikan,  Ruth  Farlow,  Nancy  Clark,  Mattie  Bell  and 
others,  should  be  held  in  lasting  v^eneration  as  the 
heroines  of  Randolph  county  in  the  struggle  for  liberty 
and  life.  It  was  these  noble  women  and  their  compeers 
who  moulded  opinion  and  shaped  the  thought  and  senti- 
ment that  directed  the  march  of  progress.  Where  the 
voice  of  authority  failed  to  direct,  where  the  hand  of 
power  could  not  control,  and  where  armed  resistance 
dared  not  venture,  woman's  reason  and  affection  persuaded 
and  prevailed.  She  mitigated  the  passions  and  tumults 
of  political  strife,  taught  the  law  of  mercy  and  kindness 
and  her  prayers  and  sacrifices  and  sufferings  and  patience 
contributed  largely  to  the  establishment  of  that  liberty 
and  prosperity  which  we  enjoy  to-day. 

They  foresaw  through  the  shadowy  dawn  the  grand 
possibility  of  our  future  prosperity,  and  for  them  is  re- 
served the  laurels  of  peaceful  triumph  and  the  tribute  of 
a  tear  that  embalms  the  memory  of  the  good  and  great 

Who  plan  and  shape  the  progress  of  the  age 
Are  oft  denied  a  place  on  history's  page. 

THE   OLD    FARM. 

Among  the  hills  of  Randolph  county  may  still  be  seen, 
now  and  then,  a  solitary  log  house  which    has  survived 


26 

the  wreck  of  matter  and  the  waste  of  time.  Built  upon 
the  slope  of  the  sunny  meadow,  with  open  porch  and 
wide  stone  chimney,  where  the  great  ancestral  oak,  the 
rock  and  the  maple  point  to  the  bubbling  spring,  the 
most  joyous  feature  of  the  farm. 

The  trunks  of  dead  apple  trees  on  the  hill  side,  almost 
hidden  by  broom  sedge  and  briers,  tell  where  the  orchard 
stood,  that  hallowed  resort  of  innocence  and  love. 

That  tangled  covert  of  pine  and  cedar,  whose  long  and 
peaceable  possession  has  ripened  into  an  undisputed  title, 
marks  the  desolate  field  where  the  glad  shout  of  the 
harvester  was  once  heard.  Upon  these  old  farms  the 
consecrating  touch  of  time  has  left  a  fruitful  theme  for 
thought  and  reflection.  Once  the  home  of  happy  child- 
hood, the  abode  of  struggling  manhood  and  hope  of  all 
that  is  good  and  noble  and  daring  in  human  nature,  let 
these  hallowed  recollections  inspire  our  hearts  with  a 
higher  appreciation  and  love  of  our  county,  our  people, 
our  homes,  and  our  farms,  and  our  privileges,  and  en- 
lighten our  minds  to  see  in  the  waste  places,  not  the 
grave  yards  of  a  vanished  barbarism,  but  the  glorious 
ideal  of  the  voice  of  the  Lord  walking  in  the  Garden. 

THE  OLD  MEETIXCi  HOUSE. 

To  each  successive  generation  the  world  is  new.  We 
find  it  as  it  is,  and  have  little  conception  of  the  remote 
antiquity  of  our  country  or  the  changes  that  time  has 
wrought.  If  we  turn  back  one  hundred  years  we  find 
time-worn  graves,  old  men,  old  houses,  old  roads,  old 
fields,  old   churches,  courts,    trials,   lawyers,  administra- 


27 

tions,    wills,    conveyances,     counterfeit    money,     politi- 
cians, &c. 

The  Back  Creek  meeting  house  lot  was  conveyed  by 
Thomas  Winslow  to  the  trustees  of  the  Quaker^church 
in  1787,  and  a  meeting  house  was  on  the  lot  then. 

Uwharrie  meeting  house  lot  was  conveyed  in  1793  to 
the  trustees  of  the  Friends  church,  and  there  was  a  house 
there  then.  This  meeting  has  long  since  gone  down,  but 
the  old  house  is  standing  yet  on  the  east  side  of  Uwharrie 
River,  not  far  from  where  N.  H.  Hill  now  lives. 

Marlboro  meeting  house  lot  was  conveyed  by  James 
Allen  to  the  trustees  of  Friends  meeting  in  1797,  and 
there  was  a  meeting  house  on  the  lot  then. 

Mt.  Pleasant  meeting  house,  on  the  south  side  of  big 
Brush  Creek,  was  conveyed  to  the  trustees  of  the  church 
in  1798,  and  there  was  a  meeting  house  there  then.  I 
think  this  was  a  Methodist  church.  The  trustees  were 
Isaac  Redfern,  John  Edwards,  John  Grady,  Wm.  Rains, 
Lewis  Brady,  Martin  F^esmire,  James  Williams,  Jerry 
Williams. 

Old  Union  Methodist  church  was  built  about  the  year 
1786,  and  there  the  first  camp  m.eeting  in  North  Carolina 
was  held  in  1802. 

Holly  Springs  meeting  house  lot  was  granted  to  the 
use  of  the  people  called  Quakers  in  1787,  and  the  house 
was  there  then. 

In  1791  the  Calvinist  congregation  built  a  meeting 
house  on  Sandy  Creek. 

About  the  year  1800  the  Baptists  built  a  church,  on 
Millstone  Creek,  called  Welborn's  Chapel. 

These  are  some  of  the  monuments  erected  by  the  noble 


28 

pioneers  of  civilization.  Their  founders  are  gone.  Their 
names  are  forgotten,  but  their  influence  is  still  seen  and 
felt  and  tongue  and  pen  and  utterance  in  fitting  tribute- 
will  embalm  their  memories  in  song  and  story,  and  while 
freedom  has  a  votary,  or  truth  a  friend,  their  praise  will 
be  more  enduring  than  the  crown  of  the  Cccsars. 

Driven  by  the  hand  of  persecution  to  quit  their  native 
land  they  sought  a  refuge  in  the  trackless  wilds  o{ 
America,  some  of  whom  found  a  home  in  Randolph 
county,  on  the  quiet,  secluded  banks  of  the  Uwharrie 
River,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty in  Randolph  county. 

Is  it  strange  that  Christianity  has  always  been  opposed 
by  the  world?  It  was  manifested  in  the  death  of  Abel. 
In  the  persecution  of  Joseph.  In  the  bondage  of  the  He- 
brews.    In  the  crucifixion  of  the  Saviour. 

As  Christianity  has  ever  been  in  hostility  to  a  corrupt 
and  sinful  world,  the  world  has  ever  been  arrayed 
against  it. 

Kingdoms  and  Empires  have  united  to  destroy  it. 
Fires,  racks  and  tortures  have  been  used  to  suppress  it. 
But  it  has  prevailed  and  without  force  or  resort  to  arms, 
it  has  spread  and  prospered  under  the  hands  of  persecu- 
tion and  its  preservation  and  growth  prove  its  divinity. 
Had  Christianity  never  been  persecuted  it  would  barely 
exist  to-day.  That  is  the  meaivs  employed  by  Providence 
to  teach  man  that  the  way  of  the  Lord  is  right  and  no 
device  of  man  can  prevail  against  it.  When  man  violates 
the  established  laws  of  nature,  he  becomes  tlie  author  of 
his  own  punishment.  From  conquests  higher  civiliza- 
tions rise.     Oppression  scatters  seeds  of  peace  and  free- 


29 

dom.  Through  strug<^les  come  victory,  throug-h  victory 
peace. 

The  earl}'  emigrants  to  this  country  comprised  the  best 
blood  and  character  and  talent  of  Europe. 

They  brought  with  them  their  trades,  their  arts,  their 
skill  and  industries,  and  many  became  pioneers  in  educa- 
tion, peace,  and  freedom. 

The  Quakers  did  not  all  follow  William  Penn  to  Penn- 
sylvania, a  number  of  them  landed  at  Charleston  and 
settled  in  South  Carolina,  and  established  a  monthly 
meeting  at  Bush  River. 

Notably  among  these  was  Thomas  English,  who  mar- 
ried Margaret  Flynn,a  cousin  to  Lord  Cornwallis.  They 
settled  in  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  and  virtually  founded 
the  city. 

Their  daughter,  Anna  English,  married  Samuel  Tom- 
linson,  and  removed  to  the  pine  woods  of  Rowan  county, 
and  settled  near  where  the  town  of  Thomasville  now 
stands,  and  their  descendants  are  yet  numerous  in  Ran- 
dolph, Guilford  and  Davidson,  in  the  family  of  the  Blairs, 
Englishes  and  Tomlinsons. 

EDUCATION. 

In  the  year  1836,  during  the  last  year  of  President 
Jackson's  administration,  North  Carolina  received  from 
the  National  Treasury,  as  her  part  of  the  surplus  rev- 
enue, one  million  dollars  as  a  permanent  literary  fund, 
^jld  it  was_iavested  in  certain  bank  and  railroad  stock. 

In  1839  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  providing  for  the 
division  of  the  counties  into  School  Districts,  and  making 
it  the  duty  of  the  county  courts   to  appoint  five  Superin- 


30 

tendents  in  each  county  to  lay  off  the  School  Districts 
and  to  appoint  three  School  Committeemen  in  each  Dis- 
trict, and  to  call  an  election  and  ascertain  whether  or  not 
the  people  wanted  free  schools.  The  election  was  held 
on  the  8th  day  of  Aug-ust,  1839,  accordingly,  and  nearly 
every  connty  in  the  State  voted  in  favor  of  schools;  and 
thereupon  our  free  schools  started  in  the  fall  of  1840. 
Prior  to  this  time  there  were  few  school  houses,  few 
teachers  and  few  schools.  The  only  educational  facilities 
afforded  the  masses  accrued  when  by  chance  some  old 
schoolmaster  came  along  and  got  up  a  short  subscription 
school  during  the  winter  in  some  old  untenanted  dv/ell- 
ing  house,  and  these  simple  primitive  institutions  could 
only  find  support  in  the  more  densely  settled  communi- 
ties, and  in  the  sparsely  inhabited  sections  of  the  county 
the  children  never  saw  a  school  house. 

These  teachers  could  teach  spelling,  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic  as  far  as  the  single  rule  of  three,  this  rule 
corresponded  to  that  department  of  numbers  designated 
in  the  modern  books  as  proportion.  The  Testament  and 
spelling  book  were  the  principal  text  books  used. 

The  girls  were  not  required  to  study  arithmetic.  It 
was  never  dreamed  that  woman  would  ever  so  far  depart 
from  her  sphere  oi  kitchen  ethics  as  to  grace  the  teacher's 
chair,  or  adorn  the  classic  field  of  polite  literature. 

This  was  the  age  of  quill  pens  and  tallow  candles;  the 
boys  cleared  new  grounds  and  split  rails  and  built  fence. 
The  girls  carded,  spun  and  wove  at  home  all  the  clothing 
worn  by  the  family.  Every  home  was  a  little  manufac- 
turing industry.  The  wheel  and  cards  and  loom  were 
indispensible  articles  of  furniture  in  every  well  ordered 


3^ 

house.  Upon  the  invention  of  labor-saving  machinery, 
and  the  introduction  of  improved  methods  of  transpor- 
tation these  household  industries  were  closed,  the  labor 
was  transferred  to  the  river  or  the  town,  domestic  craft 
was  set  at  naught,  and  the  old  time-honored  wheel  and 
cards  and  loom  and  reel  were  moved  to  the  garret  as 
effete  symbols  of  a  vanished  age,  or  became  the  fruitful 
sport  of  busy  children.  B\'  the  use  of  labor-saving  ma- 
chinery, one  man  now  can  perform  the  labor  of  five 
men  fifty  years  ago.  This  decreased  demand  for  field 
hands  draws  labor  from  the  country  and  drives  it  to  the 
town.  Thus  the  towns  are  constantly  growing  larger 
and  the  country  less.  The  application  of  steam  as  a  mo- 
tive power,  the  introduction  of  improved  machinery,  the 
division  of  labor,  even  in  the  production  of  a  single  ar- 
ticle, draws  labor  from  the  farm,  diversifies  ^killed  indus- 
tries, and  towns  and  villages  are  built  up. 

Old  ways  are  abandoned,  plantation  manners  are  laid 
aside,  airs  of  idleness  are  put  on,  newSvants  are  created, 
expenses  are  multiplied,  the  Muggletons  come  to  the  sur- 
face, and  we  have  civilized  society.  Again,  pride  be- 
comes the  vice  of  fools,  some  expedienc}*  is  resorted  to. 
to  conceal  a  natural  deformity  of  body  or  mind,  folly 
adopts  it,  the  world  bows  to  the  dictates  of  its  despotism, 
and  we  have  the  latest  fashion.  Modern  society  is  too  ex- 
pensive, it  costs  too  much  to  keep  up  appearances,  it  has 
made  many  a  poet  sigh  for  a  lodge  in  some  wilderness 
vast,  or  a  home  in  the  secluded  precincts  of  a  desert. 

Poor  contrivance  makes  hard  times' — bad  luck  is  only 
another  name  for  bad  management.  The  farmer  must 
learn  to  plan  as  well  as  plow,  and  in  all  the  relations  of 


32 

life  consult  comfort  and  common  sense  more,  and  follow 
fashion  less,  keep  out  of  politics  and  educate  his  children 
to  think.  The  poor  stand  most  in  need  of  an  education; 
they  can't  afford  to  grow  up  in  ignorance.  The  rich  can. 
Brain  is  worth  more  than  money;  Sabbath  Schools  are 
less  expensive  than  the  penitentiary;  freedom  is  cheaper 
than  slavery;  one  improved  reaper  will  do  the  work  of 
five  slaves  and  is  five  fold  cheaper. 

Truth  and  honesty  among  men,  though  sadly  out  of 
fashion,  never  wear  out.  are  never  barred  by  the  statute 
of  limitation,  but  still  survive  to  relume  the  world  and 
shed  a  lustre  upon  the  counsels  of  men  redolent  with  the 
breath  of  wisdom. 

OLD    MILLS. 

Although  water  mills  were  invented  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  era,  few  were  to  be  found  in  Ran- 
dolph till  after  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  people 
boiled  their  corn  and  made  hominy.  Some  of  the 
wealthiest  people  used  hand  mills,  but  the  common  class 
used  graters  and  grated  the  corn  to  make  meal  or  pound- 
ed it  in  mortars. 

John  Barton  built  a   mill   on   Stinking  Quarter  in  17.S1. 

Andrew  Hoover  had  a  mill  in  the  forks  of  Uwharrie  in 
1778,  now  known  as  Arnold's  Mill. 

Elisha  Mendenhall  built  Coltrane's  Mill  on  Deep  River 
about  1787. 

William  Bell  built  the  mill  now  known  as,  Walker's 
Mill  about  1782. 

Samuel  Walker  owned  a  mill  on  Sandy  Creek,  and  de- 
vised it  to  his  son,  William  Walker  in  1773. 


33 

Solomon  Fuller  owned  a  mill  on  Caraway  at  the  Rough 
Shoals  in  1785. 

Thomas  Cox  had  a  mill  somewhere   on  Deep  River  in 
1784. 
John  Henly  built  a  mill  on  Uwharrie  about  1784. 

UWHARRIt:    RIVER. 

This  beautiful  stream  flows  through  the  middle  belt  of 
the  western  half  of  the  county,  and  has  been  there  from 
time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  extendeth  not.  It  de- 
rives its  name  fro.m  "Werra,"  a  river  of  Germany  about 
the  same  size,  which  flows  along  the  confines  of  lower 
Saxony  and  enters  the  Northern  ocean.  It  was  named 
by  some  German  refugees,  wdio  settled  on  Uwharrie  about 
1690,  and  means  the  River  of  Mills. 

In  all  the  older  records  w^here  the  word  is  used  it  is 
spelled  Warra,  from  which  we  deduce  the  conclusion  the 
modern  prefix  "u"  and  "hu,"  so  indiscriminately  used, 
are  perversions  of  new,  and  the  name  originally  was  New 
Warra. 

Every  student  of  history  is  familiar  with  the  fact,  that 
in  the  year  1685,  '^^'hen  Louis  the  XIV,  King  of  France, 
revoked  the  famous  Edict  of  Nantz,  hundreds  of  the  per- 
secuted Huguenots  and  others  took  refuge  in  America, 
where  they  brought  wath  them  their  arts,  their  mechani- 
cal skill  and  habits  of  industry,  which  had  been  taught 
them  by  the  great  and  noble  Colbert,  the  King's  Prime 
Minister. 

DEEP   RIVER. 

We  walk  beside  the  river  and  stand  upon  its  mossy 
banks,  our  thoughts  steal   away   on    the    dashing  waves 


34 

and  are  lost  in  the  wide  expanse  of  futurity.  For  hun- 
dreds of  years  this  river  has  sported  along  the  same  time 
worn  channel,  over  the  same  bending  rocks,  and  made 
the  same  sad  music  it  does  to-day. 

Others  long  since  passed  away,  vanished  beauty  and 
unspoken  love,  have  listened  to  the  music  of  its  murmurs, 
and  felt  the  inspiration  of  its  song  of  progress  and  free- 
dom. 

A  hundred  years  hence  its  voice  will  be  heard.  It 
speaks  of  time  to  come  and  years  long  passed.  Others 
will  stand  on  its  sunny  banks  and  gaze  on  its  sparkling 
waters,  and  listen  to  the  laugh  of  the  dashing  waves. 

It  will  rush  on  and  on  like  the  ceaseless  tide  of  time  till 
lost  in  the  great  ocean  of  eternity. 

This  is  our  beautiful  Sapona,  whose  idle  waters  were 
once  the  sport  and  companion  of  the  Indian,  whose  camp 
grounds  and  huts  but  typified  the  rising  villages  of  bus\- 
industry  that  dot  and  adorn  her  peaceful,  happy  borders 
to-day. 

CEDAR    FALLS 

Was  the  first  cotton  mill  established  in  Randolph 
county,  and  was  built  in  1836  by  Benjamin  Elliott, 
Phillip  Horney,   Alfred  H.  Marsh  and  Henry  B.  Elliott. 

This  is  a  historic  place  and  is  surrounded  with  man}- 
hallowed  associations  of  the  olden  time. 

In  1755  the  lands  on  both  sides  of  Deep  River,  includ- 
ing the  spot  where  this  village  now  stands,  and  then 
called  Cedar  Falls,  were  granted  to  Hermon  Husbands 
by  the  Earl  of  Granville. 

Benjamin  Elliott     subsequently  acquired  possession  of 


35 

the  property  and  operated  a  ^rist  and  flouring  mill  there 
for  a  number  of  years  before  the  factory  was  built. 

This  factory  is  owned  and  conducted  by  J.  M.  Worth, 
O.  R.  Cox  and  George  H.  Makepeace,  under  whose  skill 
and  ability  Cedar  Falls  has  become  the  queen  of  the  river, 
and  the  cedar  thicket  has  been  transformed  into  a  smiling 
village  of  thrift  and  busy  industry. 

FRANKLINVILLE, 

The  second  factory  established  in  this  county,  was 
built  in  1838  by  Elisha  Coffin,  Henry  B.  Elliott,  Henry 
Kivett,  and  John  Miller. 

The  land  where  Franklinville  is  now  located  was 
granted  to  Jacob  Skeen  in  1784. 

In  1 801  Christian  Morris  bought  the  lands  and  built  a 
grist  mill,  and  in  1820  Morris  conveyed  it  to  Elisha  Coffin, 
who  then,  with  prophetic  eye,  foresaw  the  future  great- 
ness and  glory  of  Deep  River,  and  named  that  wild  wil- 
derness place,  where  idle  sporting  waters  mocked  the 
weary  mill,  "Franklinville,"  in  compliment  to  Jesse 
Franklin,  who  was  then  the  Governor  of  the  State. 

This  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1850,  but  was  soon 
rebuilt. 

It  is  now  owned  by  Benjamin  Mofifitt,  Hugh  Parks  and 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Mofifitt. 

Its  beautiful  natural  scenery,  its  flowers  and  gardens, 
the  taste  and  culture  of  its  people  all  conspire  to  make 
Franklinville  the  gem  of  the  river. 


36 

ISLAND    FORD 

Was  built  in  1845  by  Elisha  Coffin,  A.  S.  Horney,  J.  M 
Coffin,  Emery  Coffin,  B.  F.  Coffin,  J.  H.  Foster,  George 
Makepeace,  John  Green,  Mike  Cox,  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks, Minerva  Mendenhall,  Nathan  M.  Cox  and  others. 
Elisha  Coffin  and  A.  S.  Horney  owned  this  land  and 
conveyed  it  to  the  company.  Its  name  has  since  been 
changed  to  the  "Randolph  Manufacturing  Company," 
and  is  now  owned  and  operated  chiefly  by  Hugh  Parks, 
a  man  who  has  devoted  his  life  to  manufacturing  and 
made  it  a  success. 

The  oldest  records  refer  to  Island  Ford,  and  we  as- 
sume it  is  the  oldest  crossing  perhaps  on  Deep  River. 

As  light  travels  with  the  sun  from  East  to  West,  here 
the  first  adventurers  from  the  East,  on  their  journey 
West,  through  the  trackless  wood,  first  found  a  crossing 
at  Island  Ford. 

RAXDLEMAX 

Is  the  largest  manufacturing  establishment  in  the 
county.  Away  back  in  the  shadowy  past,  Peter  Dicks 
had  a  grist  mill  and  an  oil  mill  at  this  place.  It  was  then 
called  Dickes.  In  1848  Jesse  Walker,  William  Clark, 
Joseph  Newlin,  James  Dix  and  William  Hinshaw  erected 
a  cotton  mill  here  and  called  it  Union  Factory. 

In  1866  John  Randleman  and  John  H.  Ferree  acquired 
control  of  the  property,  when  the  name  was  changed  to 
Randleman. 

This  factory  was  burnt  in  18S5,  but  immediately  rebuilt 
and  has  grown  into  a  flourishing  town,  and  ranks  among 
the  leadincr  manufacturing:  centres  of  the  State. 


37 

It  is  now  owned  and  operated  by  J.  H.  Ferree  and  J. 
O.  Pickard. 

And  the  banging  loom,  and  the  buzzing  spindle,  and 
the  eternal  thunder  of  machinery  proclaim  each  day  the 
praise  of  its  founders. 

Under  this  subject  we  include  the  C.  C.  Randleman 
Cotton  Mills,  owned  and  operated  by  C.  C.  Randleman, 
and  Plaidville,  which  belongs  to   Randleman  proper. 

COLUMBIA. 

This  factory  was  built  in  1850  by  Isaac  H.  Foust, 
Washington  Brower,  Henry  Kivett  and  David  Kime. 
The  village  is  situated  a  short  distance  below  where 
Sandy  Creek  empties  into  the  river,  and  is  noted  for  the 
wild  beauty  and  romantic  features  of  the  place.  The 
factory  is  now  owned  and  operated  by  W.  H.  Watkins 
and  A.  W.  E.  Caple.  and  fair  Columbia  is  taking  rank 
among  the  foremost  towns  in  the  county.  The  branch 
road  is  now  being  extended  from  Millboro  to  this  place. 
and  when  completed,  Columbia,  at  the  terminus  of  the 
route,  will  become  an  important  commercial  centre,  and 
will  emblazon  the  future  map  of  Randolph  county  as  the 
morning  star  of  Deep  River.  This  place  is  now  called 
Ramseur. 

NAOMI. 

This  factory  was  built  in  1879  by  J.  E.  Walker.  John 
H.  Ferree,  J.  O.  Pickard  and  Amos  Gregson,  and  derives 
its  name  from  Naomi  Wise,  a  beautiful  girl,  who  was 
drowned  at  this  place  about  the  year  1808  by  Jonathan 
Lewis. 

The  lands  where  this  factory  is  located  were  entered  in 


38 

1782  by  Levi  Pennington,  and  by  him  conveyed  to  Thos. 
Dougan  in  1784,  and  purchased  by  John  Hinshaw  in  1800 
from  John  Underbill.  Hinshaw  built  a  grist  mill  here, 
and  the  old  mill  race  is  still  visible. 

Here  was  also  the  old  trading  ford  across  Deep  River, 
which  was  an  established  trading  post  between  the  white 
settlers  and  the  Indians  long  before  the  Revolutionary 
War.  There  was  likewise  another  trading  ford  across 
Pole  Cat,  east  of  New  Salem.  Though  among  the  young- 
est of  her  sisters,  Naomi  possesses  all  the  elements  of  a 
prosperous  and  flourishing  village,  and  the  tragic  charms 
that  cluster  here,  the  romance  of  love  and  murder,  the 
sorrowing  sighs  of  the  murmuring  waves  make  Naomi  the 
most  inviting  and  attractive  place  on  the  river. 

WORTHVILLE 

Was  built  in  1881,  by  J.  M.  Worth  and  T.  C.  Worth,  at 
the  old  crossing  called  Hopper's  Ford,  from  Charles 
Hopper,  who  entered  this  land  and  located  near  the  Ford 
over  one  hundred  years  ago.  This  is  a  magnificent  fac- 
tory building,  and  the  town  is  handsomely  laid  out  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  just  below  the  mouth  of  Pole  Cat 
Creek.  This  site  had  never  been  improved  before,  and 
though  too  young  to  have  a  history,  Worthville  is  an 
ornament  to  Deep  River,  an  honor  to  the  county  of  Ran- 
dolph, and  a  living  monument  to  the  public  spirit  and 
enterprise  of  the  men  whose  name  and  memory  it  will 
long  perpetuate. 

CENTRAL    FALLS 

Was  built  in  1881,  by  J.  H.  Ferree,  J.  E.  Walker,  A. 
M.  Diffee,  J.  A.  Blair,  W.  P.  Wood,  W.  H.  Ragan.  J.  H. 


39 

Millis,  J.  O.  Pickard.  R.  W.  Frazer,  G.  S.  Bradshaw,  Mrs. 
E.  K.  Walker,  Amos  Gregson,  R.  M.  Free,  W.  S.  Ball. 
This  is  confessedly  the  neatest  village  on  the  river,  and 
the  factory  building  is  unrivalled  in  beauty  and  elegance. 
Central  is  now  consolidated  with  Worthville,  and  is  oper- 
ated and  controlled  by  the  Worthville  Manufacturing 
Company,  and  managed  by  J.  S.  Mc.\lister  and  Claude 
Morris. 

ENTERPRISE 

Is  the  youngest  of  the  family,  and  was  built  in  1883  b}- 
E.  A.  Moffitt,  James  A.  Cole  and  Daniel  Lambert,  at  the 
place  formerly  known  as  Foust's  Mill.  This  factory  is 
far  away  over  the  hills,  where  the  wild  sporting  waters 
mutter  their  pensive  lays  to  the  laughing  myrtle  and  holly 
that  shelter  the  fern  fringed  banks. 

Enterprise  has  thus  early  established  a  reputation  for 
the  high  grade  and  quality  of  its  goods,  its  excellent 
flouring  mills,  and  its  unsurpassed  water  power. 


40 

SHERIFFS  OF  RANDOLPH  COUNTY  AND  DATE  OF  THEIR 
ELECTION. 

William     Bell     elected    in 1779 

John    Collier  "         " 1782 

William  Pickett  "         "  1784 

John  Arnold  "         " 1786 

Robert  McLean  "         " 1788 

Simeon  Geron  "  "  1790 

Isaac  Lane  '         "  iSoo 

Thomas  Hancock  "         " 1826 

George  Hoover  "         "  1827 

Isaac  White  "         " 1840 

Hezekiah  Andrews  "         " 1S46 

J.  W.  Steed  "         " 1850 

Z.  F.  Rush  "         "  1864 

R.  F.  Trogdon  "         " 1868 

W.  R.  Ashworth  "         "   1872 

O.  R.  Cox  "         " 1876 

Benj.  Millikan  "         "     1878 

E.  A.  Moffitt  "         " ...1880 

J.  S.  Swaim  "         "   1888 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  through  a  period  of  more  than 
a  hundred  years,  Randolph  has  only  had  nineteen  Sher- 
iffs, six  of  whom  are  living  at  this  time. 

GOLD    MIN*ES. 

The  mineral  resources  of  Randolph  county  have  long 
been  held  in  high  estimation. 

In  1665  King  Charles  the  Second  granted  to  eight  of 
his  Lords  Proprietors  all  the  Carolinas  and  the  lands  ex- 
tending west  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

These    lands  were  all    afterwards   reconveyed    to  the 


41 

Crown  of  England,  and  in  1744  King-  George  the  Second 
granted  to  John  Earl  Granville,  under  the  name  and  style 
of  John  Lord  Carteret,  one-eighth  part  of  all  the  territory 
heretofore  granted  by  Charles  the  Second  to  his  eight 
Lords.  This  grant  comprised  all  the  territory  south  of 
the  Virginia  line,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to 
the  Mississippi  River. 

Under  this  grant  Earl  Granville  sold  many  valuable 
tracts  of  land  to  the  first  settlers  in  Randolph  county,  and 
in  every  deed  of  conveyance  of  land  on  Tom's  Creek, 
Hannah's  Creek  and  Little  River,  he  reserves  to  the  King 
one  fourth  of  the  mineral,  gold  and  silver,  and  to  himself 
one  half  of  the  remaining  three  fourths. 

KARL   GRANVILLE. 

John  Earl  Granville  was  the  son  of  Sir  George  Car- 
teret, and  in  his  grant  was  comprised  all  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  Tennessee.  This  was  a  big  farm  for  one-man  to 
own,  and  here  may  be  seen  a  trace  of  the  ancient  Eng- 
lish Feudal  law  that  so  richly  rewarded  the  faithful. 

What  an  air  of  importance  a  man  assumes  when  he  has 
money  to  loan  or  land  to  sell.  Earl  Granville  began 
selling  lands  in  the  eastern  and  then  settled  portion  of 
this  vast  domain;  a  bonanza  fortune  rolled  at  his  feet,  but 

"The  best  laid  plans  ot  mice  and  men 
Oft  gang  aglee." 

His  right  was  disputed,  a  controversy  arose  as  to  the 
validity  of  his  title,  there  was  a  resort  to  arms,  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  came,  the  cause  was  determined,  and  all 
the  issues  found  for  the  Colonists;  arid  thereupon  all  the 


42 

lands  in  this  Province  remaining  unsold  when  Granville's 
title  failed,  instead  of  reverting-  to  the  King  of  England, 
became  a  part  of  the  public  domain  of  the  State  and  sub- 
ject to  entry.  It  will  be  observed  that  all  the  original 
grants  before  the  war  were  from  Lord  Carteret  or  Earl 
Granville. 

EIGHTY    YEARS    AGO. 

In  1810  the  Court  appointed  a  jury  of  twelve  men  to 
view  and  lay  off  a  road  the  nearest  and  best  way  to  the 
Guilford  county  line  to  meet  the  road  leading  from  Guil- 
ford Court  House  near  Centre  meeting  house.  They  re- 
ported that  six  of  their  number  were  of  the  opinion  that 
the  road  already  laid  out  and  opened  by  way  of  Island 
Ford  to  Centre  meeting  house  was  the  nearest  and  best 
that  could  be  had.  The  other  six  were  of  the  opinion 
that  a  road  from  Centre  meeting  house  to  cross  Deep 
River  at  Dickes  Mill  would  be  the  nearest  and  best. 
They  therefore  recommended  to  the  Court,  that  as  both 
roads  could  be  travelled  then,  and  there  was  little  prob- 
ability that  either  would  be  needed  as  market  highways 
or  for  any  other  purpose  than  the  accommodation  of  a  few 
transient  travellers  and  adjacent  inhabitants,  that  neither 
of  said  roads  be  established  as  public  roads  at  present. 
This  is  noted  merely  to  show  the  wild  wilderness  state  of 
the  county  at  that  time,  and  how  little  intelligent  men 
foresaw  of  the  grand  possibilities  of  our  future  progress 
and  development. 

ASHEBORO 

Is  in  the  centre  of  the  county  and    near  the   centre  of 
the  State  and  is  the  centre  of  much  that  is  good  and  great. 


43 

It  is  seventy-two  miles  west  from  Raleigh,  and  was 
named  in  compliment  to  Samuel  Ashe,  a  distinguished 
soldier  and  statesman  in  the  days  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution and  who  became  Governor  of  the  State  in  1795, 
soon  after  the  removal  of  the  Court  House  to  its  present 
site. 

In  the  year  1786  Jesse  Henly  entered  two  hundred 
acres  of  land  at  and  including  the  centre  of  the  county. 
How  he  found  the  centre,  in  the  darkness  and  gloom  of 
the  trackless  wood,  will  ever  remain  a  mystery.  The 
farther  away  an  object  is,  the  better  some  men  can  see  it. 
The  native  instinct  of  the  Indian  and  buffalo  marked  out 
our  roads  and  fixed  our  fords. 

Here  at  the  crossing  of  two  Indian  trails,  where  the 
gushing  spring  went  gurgling  over  the  rocks  beneath  the 
branches  of  the  giant  trees,  where  the  camp  of  the  Indian 
gleamed  in  the  soft  light  of  the  summer  sun,  where  the 
great  chief  held  his  council  of  war  and  planned  the  order 
of  the  chase,  was  typified  the  busy  village  of  a  future 
civilization. 

Jesse  Henly  lived  on  Caraway,  where  Winborne  An- 
drews now  lives,  and  was  the  iather  of  John  Henly. 

When  Henly  entered  this  land  there  was  a  small  cabin 
on  it,  near  the  spring  a  little  north  of  where  the  old 
Hoover  House  now  stands,  and  an  old  man  lived  there 
by  the  name  of  Abram.  He  had  a  small  patch  cleared 
around  his  house  and  lived  chiefly  by  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing, and,  it  is  said,  could  stand  in  his  door  and  shoot  deer 
and  wild  turkeys.  In  1793  Henly  conveyed  to  the  Justi- 
ces of  the  county  and  their  successors,  for  the  public 
building^s,  two  acres  of  this  land. 


44 

The  county  paid  ten  shillings  for  the  two  acres,  which 
formed  a  rectangle  twenty  poles  north  and  south  and 
sixteen  poles  east  and  west. 

In  iSo6  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  the 
County  Court  to  appoint  three  Commissioners  to  sell  off 
a  part  of  the  public  lot,  and  the  Court  accordingly  ap- 
pointed Joshua  Cox,  Clement  Arnold  and  John  Brower, 
w^ho  thereupon  sold  to  Benjamin  Elliott  the  corner  where 
the  Asheboro  Hotel  now  stands,  134  feet  north  and  south 
by  99  east  and  west  for  $43.  They  also  sold  the  Moffitt 
corner,  134  feet  by  99.  to  Alexander  Gray  and  Jesse  Har- 
per, for  $33-50- 

These  Commissioners  also  sold  a  lot  off  the  north-west 
corner  and  one  oft'  the  north-east  corner,  leaving  one 
acre  now  comprising  the  Public  Square. 

The  lines  on  the  east  and  west  sides  remain  as  origin- 
ally established.  John  Moss  bought  four  lots  from  Henly, 
put  up  a  store  and  moved  here.  He  joined  the  original 
Public  Square  on  the  south,  which  was  about  where  M. 
S.  Robin's  law  office  now  is.  Jacob  Elliott  bought  the 
lot  west  of  the  Court  House,  now  occupied  by  the  store 
of  W.  P.  Wood  and  Company. 

George  McCullock  bought  three  lots  on  the  west  side 
of  a  street  then  called  McCullock  street.  He  was  a  law- 
yer, and  lived  at  or  about  where  the  Post  Office  now 
stands. 

Joshua  Craven  bought  twenty-five  acres  touching  the 
north-east  corner  of-  the  Public  Square,  and  George 
Swearingim  bought  the  chinquapin  thicket  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Public  Square,  now  occupied  by  J.  A.  Blair. 


45 

Jacob  Hoover  and  John  Arnold  owned  the  land  on  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  Public  Square. 

In  1843  Jonathan  Worth,  Col.  Joshua  A.  Craven  and 
Hugh  McCain,  Commissioners  of  the  Town,  employed 
Col.  Isaac  Lane  to  make  an  accurate  survey  of  the  pub- 
lic grounds,  composing  the  square  around  the  Court 
House  and  public  streets. 

A  correct  plat  of  the  town  according  to  this  survey  is 
diagramed  in  the  minute  docket  at  November  Court,  1843, 
near  the  first  of  the  book.  A  copy  of  the  original  plat  of 
the  town  can  also  be  found  in  the  office  of  the  Register 
of  Deeds,  in  Book  38,  known  to  Court  House  society  as 
Jumbo.  At  each  of  the  twelve  angles  or  corners  of  the 
Public  Square  they  caused  a  soapstone  rock  to  be  planted 
extending  one  foot  in  the  ground  and  two  inches  above 
the  surface.  These  rocks  were  brown  soapstone,  four 
inches  square  at  the  top.  At  the  east  angle  of  South 
street,  the  brick  store  of  E.  A.  Moffitt  extends  ten  inches 
north  of  this  rock,  which  was  visible  w^hen  the  store  w^as 
built.  The  store  house  of  W.  P.  Wood  and  Company  on 
the  west  is  also  about  ten  inches  on  the  public  grounds. 
These  venerable  landmarks,  suggestive  of  the  twelve 
stones  set  up  by  Joshua  in  Gilgal,  are  all  gone  but  one; 
this  is  at  the  north-east  corner  of  J.  A.  Blair's  lot. 


46 


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47 

Asheboro  was   originally  laid  out  in   lots  of  one  acre 

each,   as  shown  in  the    annexed    plat,    extending  south 

ten  degrees,  west  lo  poles,  and  south  eighty  degrees,  east 

i6  poles. 
The  streets  are  two  poles  wide,  except  the    two  main 

streets,  which  are  four  poles  wide   and  cross  at  the  Court 
House. 

Many  of  these  lots  have   since   been  consolidated  and 

others  have  been  subdivided.     In   fact,  a  number   of  the 

streets  originally  located  were   never  opened  at  all,  and 

buildings  are  standing  in  the  very  line  of  the  streets. 

The  Court  House  Square,  like  other  public  essentials, 
has  been  made  the  victim  of  cornering  till  now  it  meas- 
ures one  acre  or  less. 

Thus  amid  the  circling  hills  of  pine,  where  the  golden 
light  of  day  first  breaks  upon  the  dew-gemmed  hills, 
where  the  tremulous  light  of  evening  lingers  on  the  crest 
of  the  lonely  mountain  pine,  without  a  boom,  without  a 
puff,  without  ever  assuming  an  air  of  greatness,  with  more 
merit  than  praise,  Asheboro  has  stood  one  hundred  years 
the  home  of  beauty  and  culture  and  intelligence.  Her 
talent  has  honored  the  State.  The  virtues  of  her  people 
have  shed  a  living  lustre  upon  the  age,  before  their  toil 
the  forest  has  retreated,  homes  of  art  and  industry  have 
been  extended,  and  her  blossoming  borders  are  crowned 

With  meadows  and  orchards  and  homes  and  farms, 
Where  nature  has  lavished  ineffable  charms. 

TRINITY 

Is  a  neat  and  handsome  little  village  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  county,  is  well  and  tastefully  arranged,  and 
takes  its  name  from  the  College. 


48 

Trinity  College  was  founded  in  1838  by  Prof.  Brantley 
York,  and  the  old  log  house  was  the  school  room  the 
first  year.  In  1839  a  frame  house  was  built,  and  the 
school  was  chartered  as  Union  Institute.  In  1842  Dr. 
Craven,  then  fresh  from  New  Garden,  took  charge  of  the 
school.  In  1 85 1  the  College  was  rechartered  and  named 
Normal  College,  and  by  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
1859  the  name  was  changed  to  Trinity  College.  Thus,  by 
the  skill,  ability  and  enterprise  of  Braxton  Craven,  the 
increasing  growth,  prosperity  and  patronage  of  this  school 
rendered  further  and  greater  improvements  necessary  till 
it  has  become  one  of  the  foremost  institutions  of  learning 
in  the  South. 

Braxton  Craven  was  born  in  Randolph  county,  near 
Buffalo  Ford. 

Brantley  York  was  born  and  raised  in  Randolph,  and 
when  a  young  man  split  rails  and  broke  flax  at  twenty 
cents  a  day. 

ARCHDALE 

Is  a  charming  and  attractive  village  on  the  head  waters 
of  Muddy  Creek,  a  mile  and  a  half  northeast  from  Trin- 
ity, and  has  long  been  noted  for  its  health  and  good  so- 
ciety and  the  industry  and  intelligence  of  its  people. 

This  place  was  established  as  a  tannery  in  the  year 
1820,  by  Allen  U.  Tomlinson,  and  was  called  Bush  Hill. 
By  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1887  the  name  was  changed 
to  Archdale,  in  commemoration  of  John  Archdale,  the 
Quaker  Governor  of  the  Colony  in  1694,  under  whose 
executive  talents  and  ability  the  Colony  signally  flourished , 
and  marked  the  period  with  eminent  peace  and  pros- 
perity. 


49 

The  Archdale  shoe  and  leather  industry,  under  the 
management  and  enterprise  of  A.  U.  Tomlinson  and  Sons, 
from  a  single  vat,  has  grown  to  a  working  capacity  of  ten 
thousand  sides  of  leather  and  forty  thousand  pairs  of 
shoes  annually. 

Hammond  &  Co.  have  an  extensive  sash  and  door  fac- 
tory; other  industries  are  growing  up,  and  the  captivating 
beauty  of  the  place,  its  pure  air  and  good  water,  its  schools, 
its  churches,  its  groves,  its  flowers,  make  Archdale  an 
attractive  business  centre. 

The  arts  of  peace  are  more  illustrious  far 
Than  all  the  triumphs  of  inglorious  war. 

NEW    MARKET. 

This  is  an  old  settled  place,  and  was  the  home  of  Capt. 
John  Bryant,  a  Whig,  who  was  shot  in  his  own  house  by 
Colonel  Fanning. 

The  place  afterwards  came  into  the  possession  of  Shu- 
bal  Gardner,  who  had  a  store  there  and  was  regarded  as 
a  big  man. 

He  owned  a  number  of  lots  in  Johnsonville,  and  at  one 
time  drove  a  herd  of  beeves  to  Philadelphia. 

Joseph  Newlin  bought  the  property  about  1840,  and 
called  it  New  Market,  and  for  many  years  carried  on  an 
extensive  store  and  tin  shop. 

Dr.  Lorenzo  Wood  lived  here  at  that  time,  and  was  the 
most  skillful  physician  of  the  age. 

New  Market  is  a  self-constituted  place,  never  having 
any  local  municipal  government. 

This  is  a  time-honored  spot  and  ought  to  be  preserved 
from  time's  effacing  hand. 


50 


NEW    SALEM. 


The  north  part  oi  the  land  on  which  this  village  stands 
was  entered  in  1792  by  Joseph  Hill,  and  afterwards  con- 
veyed by  Hill  to  John  Dennis,  and  by  John  Dennis  to 
William  Dennis. 

In  181 5  William  Dennis  conve}'ed  to  Jess£-  Hitt^haw 
and  Joseph  Elliott,  in  trust  for  the  Society  of  Friends, 
two  acres  of  land  for  a  meeting  house. 

About  the  same  time  Benjamin  Marmon  entered  the 
middle  and  southern  part  of  this  locality,  and  a  com- 
munity of  Randolph's  best  citizens  gathered  there  and 
purchased  lots.  At  that  day.  when  roads  were  few,  the 
converge  or  crossing  of  two  public  highways  was  regarded 
as  the  index  to  the  future  town. 

In  1816  Benjamin  Marmon,  Jesse  Hinshaw,  Moses 
Swaim,  Peter  Dicks  and  William  Dennis  w^ere  appointed 
Commissioners  of  the  town  of  New  Salem,  and  sold  a 
number  of  lots  and  located  the  streets.  In  the  mean  time 
Marmon  had  his  lands  in  the  town  laid  off  into  lots,  and  in 
1823  sold  his  entire  tract,  including  about  twenty  lots,  to 
Peter  Dicks  and  Joseph  Hodgin. 

New  Salem  has  been  the  home  of  many  good  and  noble 
men.  J.  M.  Worth  lived  here,  and  here  began  his  profes- 
sional career  as  a  practicing  physician. 

William  Clark  also  lived  here,  and  had  a  flourishing 
tannery  and  store,  and  who  afterwards  became  one  of  the 
organizers  of  Randleman  Factory. 

Peter  Dicks  lived  here  and  kept  a  store.  Few  produc- 
tive industries  were  ever  started  here,  and  labor,  which  is 
the  chief  strength  and  support  of  a  town,  was  drawn 
away  by  the   music  of   Deep  River,  and  new  roads  and 


51 

competing  enterprises  turned  the  channel  of  trade,  and 
New  Salem,  once  second  only  to  Johnsonville  in  business 
and  population,  now,  like  a  good  old  mother  grown  out 
of  fashion,  is  kept  in  the  kitchen  by  her  grown  up  fash- 
ionable daughters. 

GLADESBORO 

Is  an  old  place,  near  the  Guilford  county  line,  south  of 
Freeman's  Mill  and  west  of  Coltrane's  Mill.  It  is  located 
at  the  crossing  of  two  public  highways,  and,  like  New 
Market,  is  a  self-made  town  without  any  corporate  power. 

Dr.  John  Parker,  a  distinguished  physician,  lived  here 
many  years  ago,  and  Jesse  Needham  had  a  shop  at  the 
place.     George  C.  Mendenhall  owned  a  lot  here  in  1837. 

Robert  Gray  went  there  about  1842,  and  conducted  a 
successful  store  for  a  number  of  years. 

Gladesboro  is  a  pleasant  place,  in  a  good  neighborhood, 
and  deserves  success  if  it  never  achieves  it. 

On  the  eastern  border  of  the  county  are  to  be  found 
the  young  and  growing  villages  of  Julian,  Liberty  and 
Staley,  situated  on  the  C.  F.  &  Y.  V.  Railroad. 

This  road  was  built  about  1880,  and  its  construction  is 
largely  due  to  the  public  spirit  and  enterprise  of  Julius  A. 
Gray,  Esq.,  of  Greensboro,  who  was  born  in  Randolph 
county,  and  whose  father,  General  Alexander  Gray,  lived 
near  Hopewell  church,  and  for  many  years  represented 
Randolph  in  the  General  Assembly. 

Of  this  road  there  are  thirty  and  one-tenth  miles  in 
this  county.  Of  the  H.  P.  R.  A.  &  Southern  Road  there 
are  twenty-six  and  sixty-five  one-hundreths  miles  in 
Randolph,  and  of  the    North  Carolina    Road    there  are 


52 

seven-tenths  of  a  mile  in  this  county,  making  a  total 
of  fifty-seven  and  forty-five  one-hundreths  miles  of  rail- 
road in  Randolph  county. 

Governors  of  North  Carolina  Under  the  Lords 
Proprietors. 


1663.   William  Drummond. 

1667. Stevens. 

1671.  Sir  George  Carteret. 
1678.  Eastchurch. 

1680.  John  Jenkins. 

1681.  Henry  Wilkinson. 
1683.  Seth  Sothel. 
1689.  Phillip  Ludwell. 

1693.  Thomas  Smith. 

1694.  John  Archdale. 


1698.  Thomas  Harvey. 

1700.  Henderson  Walker. 

1704.  Robert  Daniel. 

171 1.  Edward  Hyde. 

1712.  George  Pollock. 

1713.  Charles  Eden. 
1722.  Thomas  Pollock. 

1724.  George  Burrington. 

1725.  Richard  Everhard. 


Royal  Governors  Appointed  by  King  George  I 


1729.  George  Burrington. 
1734.  Gabriel  Johnson. 
1753.   Matthew  Rowan. 


1754.   Arthur  Dobbs. 
1765.  William  Tryon. 
1771.  Josiah  Martin. 


Governors  Elected  by  the  Legislature. 


1776.  Richard  Caswell. 

1779.  Abner  Nash. 

1781.  Thomas  Burke. 

1782.  Alexander  Martin. 
1784.  Richard  Caswell. 
1787.  Samuel  Johnson. 
1789.  Alexander  Martin. 
1792.  Richard  D.  Spaight. 


1808.   David  Stone. 

1810.  Benjamin  Smith. 

181 1.  William  Hawkins. 
1814.  William  Miller. 
1817.  John  Branch. 

1820.  Jesse  Franklin. 

1821.  Gabriel  Holmes. 
1824.   Hutchins  G.  Burton. 


53 


1 795 
1798 
1799 
1802 
1805 
1807 


1837 
1841 
1845 
1849 
1851 
1855 
1858 
1861 
1862 


Samuel  Ashe. 
William  R.  Davie. 
Benjamin  Williams. 
James  Turner. 
Nathaniel  Alexander. 
Benjamin  Williams. 


1827 
1828 
1830 
1832 
1835 


James  Iredell. 
John  Owen. 
Montford  Stokes. 
David  L.  Swain. 
Richard  D.  Spaight. 


Governors  Elected  by  the  People. 

Edward  B.  Dudley. 
John  M    Morehead. 
William  A.  Grahim. 
Charles  Manly. 
David  S.  Reed. 
Thomas  Bragg. 
John  W.    Ellis. 
Henrv  T.  Clark. 


Zeb.  B.  \'ance. 


1866.  Jonathan  Worth. ^ 
1868.   W.  W.  Hold  en. 
1870.  Tod  R.  Caldwell. 

1873.  Curtis  H.  Brogdon. 

1874.  Zeb.  B.  Vance. 
1880.   Thomas  J.  Jarvis. 
1884.   Alfred  M.  Scales. 
1888.   Daniel  G.  Fowle. 
i8q2 


John  W.  Ellis  and  Tod  R.  Caldwell  died  during  term 
of  office. 


ASHEBORO  DIRECTORY,  1890. 


Clerk  of  Stiperior  Court — Geo.  S.  Bradshaw. 
Sheriff — J.  S.  Swaim. 
Register  of  Deeds — J.  W.  Bean. 

County  Commissioners — Dr.  A.  C.  Bulla,  Dr.  S.  A.  Henly,  R.  A 
Brower. 

Board  of  Education— ].  A.  Blair,  M.  S.  Robins.  R.  W.  Frazer. 
Superintendent  of  Education — W.  C.  Hammer. 
Public  Guardian — A.  C.  McAlister. 
Public  Administrator — J.  S.  Cox. 
Post  Mistress — Mrs.  E.  B.  McCain. 


54 

Attorneys  at  Law — J.  A.  Blair,  J.  T.  Crocker,  Mike  Bradshaw. 
J.  T.  Brittain,  M.  S.  Robins,  W.  D.  Rush. 

Standard  Keeper — J.  F.  Birkhead. 

Coroner — C.  H.  Lewis. 

County  Surveyor — J.  M.    Johnson. 

Mayor  of  Asheboro — J.  T.  Crocker. 

Toivn  Commissioners — J.  A.  Blair,  \V.  H.  Moring,  Jr..  \V.  A. 
Hamlin. 

Town  Constable — Isaac  H.  Burrow. 

Jailer — James  S.  Free. 

M^hite  Academy-— Prof.  Emmet  L.  Motfitt. 

Colored  Academy — Prof.  W.  Elmore  Meade. 

Presbyterian  Church — Rev.  George  A.  Hough,  Pastor. 

Methodist  Church — Rev.  Joseph  C.  Thomas,  Pastor. 

Physician  and  Druggist — J.  M.  Boyette. 

Surgeon  Dentist — A.  E.  Frazier. 

Physicia-7i — S.  A.  Henly. 

Asheboro  Courier — G.  W.  Charlotte  &  Son,  Editors. 

General  Stores— W.  P.  Wood  &  Co.,  McAlister  &  Morris,  E.  A, 
Moffitt  &Son. 

Grocery  and  Ten — W.  D.  Stedman. 

Grocers  and  Confectioners — Brower,  Hill  &  Co. 

Produce — R,  C.  Charles. 

Racket  and  Produce — Auman  &  Birkhead. 

Racket  and  Fancy  Goods — Mrs.  W.  D.  Stedman. 

Buggy  and  Blacksfnith — B.  B.  Burns. 

Buggy  and  Smithshop — H.  J.  Burns  &  Bro. 

Shuttle  Block  and  Saw  Mill — Grimes  &  Grmies. 

Lumber  and  Planing  Mill— ].  M.  Worth  &  Co. 

Asheboro  Hotel — G.  D.  Hunsucker. 

Banner  Hotel— Y^.  M.  Pettv. 


55 

CONCLUSION 


We  have  now  followed  the  march  of  our  county  through 
the  varying  fortunes  and  vicissitudes  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  years.  We  have  traced  briefly  the  footsteps  of  the 
past,  and  rehearsed  the  story  of  the  beautiful,  shadowy 
long  ago. 

We  have  shown  you  our  people,  our  homes,  our  towns 
and  industries,  our  mills,  mines,  meadows,  mountains, 
streams,  roads,  forests,  fields,  hills,  groves,  gardens,  birds 
and  flowers. 

There  is  no  place  on  earth  where  the  sky  is  bluer, 
where  the  fields  are  fairer,  or  the  woods  are  greener.  No 
place  where  the  flowers  are  lovelier,  where  the  birds  sing 
sweeter,  or  the  moon  shines  brighter. 

This  is  the  land  of  the  rising  sun;  a  land  of  beauty 
and  verdure  and  blossom  and  song;  a  land  of  brooks,  of 
water,  of  fountains  and  depths  that  spring  out  of  valleys 
and  hills;  a  land  of  wheat  and  barley  and  vine  and  fig 
and  pomegranate;  a  land  of  corn  and  oil  and  honey;  a 
land  whose  stones  are  iron  and  out  of  whose  hills  thou 
mayest  dig  brass;  a  land  that  the  Lord  careth  for,  where 
the  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day  nor  the  moon  by  night. 
Our  country  came  not  by  chance.  At  every  step  of  our 
advancement  may  be  seen  the  directing  hand  of  an  over- 
ruling providence  shaping  our  destiny  and  developing 
our  civilization. 

It  is  said  that  travellers  find  their  way  across  the  desert 
by  the  bones  of  those  who  have  perished  in  the  journe>'. 

The  fallen  win  the  victory,  the  survivors  reap  the  spoil 
and  gain  the  praise. 


56 

Th^  men  who  cut  our  roads  through  the  wilderness, 
who  planted  our  homes  and  laid  the  foundation  of  our 
prosperity  are  gone,  but  their  graves  are  here,  their  chil- 
dren are  here.  I  have  lingered  where  time  has  stamped 
the  impress  of  age;  I  have  stood  upon  the  bleaching 
rocks  that  mark  the  mouldering  ruins  of  the  old  home;  I 
have  tarried  by  the  long  neglected  grave,  in  the  desolate 
waste  among  the  pathless  hedge  of  thorns,  where  the 
feet  of  beauty  once  stood  and  wept  over  departed  love. 

Then  in  the  noonday  splendor  of  our  county's  glory, 
shall  we  deem  it  a  vain  and  idle  thing  to  offer  a  feeble 
tribute  to  our  noble  dead  and  our  worthy  living,  or  shall 
we  forget  our  lineage  and  cease  to  honor  the  willows  that 
overshadow  the  graves  of  our  fathers. 

The  three  vital  elements  of  national  strength  and  pro- 
gress are  muscle,  capital  and  brain.  Muscle  docs  the 
work,  capital  pays  for  it  and  brain  directs  it.  Some  have 
muscle,  some  have  money,  and  now  and  then  is  to  be 
found  a  man  of  brain,  and  when  all  these  resources  are 
harmoniously  united  in  interest  we  have  prosperity,  and 
when  all  unite  in  one  man  that  man  is  a  success.  Antag- 
onize these  forces  and  conflicts,  strikes  and  defections 
follow.  Combined,  each  alike  is  valuable,  alone  each  is 
powerless  for  good.  Leagues  and  clans  invite  opposition. 
Combinations  never  protect  the  fortunes  of  the  rich  or 
relieve  the  necessities  of  the  poor.  Human  nature  in 
every  age  of  the  world  is  much  the  same.  Men  in  office 
rarely  complain  of  high  salaries  or  excessive  fees.  The 
loudest  declaimers  against  spoil  and  plunder  usually 
evince  the  rarest  capacity  for  shortage.  The  most  arrant 
supporters  of  compacts,  are  the  first,  when  retired,  to  de- 
nounce court  house  rings  and  party  conclaves. 


57 

No  community  can  afford  to  ignore  any  class  of  its 
subjects.  That  nation  alone  is  great  whose  people  are 
great,  in  contentment  and  happiness.  High  prices  for 
produce,  with  corresponding  high  wages,  with  money 
bring  prosperity.  A  system  of  low  prices,  with  low  wages, 
without  money,  is  a  mockery  more  splendid  in  theory 
than  useful  in  practice.     Theorizers  are  failures. 

The  strength  of  a  nation  is  in  its  arts  and  industries. 
Rome  conquered  more  by  her  arts  than  her  arms.  The 
lustre  of  a  useful  life,  devoted  to  the  peaceful  pursuit  ^f 
honest  industry,  outshines  the  grandest  pageants  of 
power.  The  proudest  monuments  of  our  nation's  glory 
must  be  erected  in  the  elevation  and  intelligence  of  the 
people.  The  vain  adulations  of  praise  bestowed  upon  the 
military  chieftain  only  illustrate  the  folly  of  human  ambi- 
tion and  the  servility  of  the  masses.  Agriculture  is  the 
basis  of  National  strength  and  greatness,  the  foundation 
upon  which  is  reared  the  superstructure  of  free  govern- 
ment, and  the  laborer  is  the  key  stone  in  the  arch  of  the 
proud  fabric  of  freedom.  For  him  we  Cherish  the  pro- 
foundest  veneration  and  respect,  but  for  the  political 
tramp,  who  is  seeking  office  by  deluding  the  farmer  with 
empty  promises  and  false  representation,  the  world  has 
the  supremest  contempt. 

May  the  day  hasten  on  apace  when  the  idolatry  of  gun- 
powder greatness  shall  cease  to  be  the  folly  of  the  world, 
and  when  man  shall  no  longer  pay  his  highest  homage  to 
the  sword  as  the  chief  amulet  of  a  nation's  praise;  but 
when  the  future  glory  of  our  country  shall  be  that  of 
peace  and  love,  and  our  true  heroes  be  those  of  toil  and 
industry,  whose  skill  and  art  shall  celebrate  in  songs  of 
praise,  amid  the  music  of  busy  commerce  and  happy 
homes,  the  grander,  nobler  victories  of  Peace. 


SO! 


